NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's monsoon rains were 6 percent above average in the past week, the weather office said on Thursday, the first time they have been heavier than normal in the current rainy season that began in June, in what is turning out to be a drought year.
The rains, vital for the 55 percent of Indian farmland without irrigation, are still 12 percent short of average and threaten cereal and pulses production as drought continues in some areas of west and south India.