India's national weather authority has warned that monsoon rains this year are expected to fall short of normal levels, projecting rainfall at 92% of the long-period average for the June-to-September season. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) attributed the shortfall primarily to El Niño conditions, though it noted that a positive Indian Ocean Dipole and Eurasian snow cover patterns could partially offset the effect in the season's second half. The forecast raises concerns for agricultural output and broader economic growth in a country where hundreds of millions of farmers depend on the annual monsoon.