India's 2023 monsoon seen normal despite El Nino, says weather office

India is likely to receive normal monsoon rains in 2023 despite the likely emergence of the El Nino weather phenomenon, the state-run weather office said on Friday.

That would make it the fifth straight year of normal or above normal summer rains that spur farm and overall economic growth in Asia's third-biggest economy.

The rains, which usually lash the southern tip of Kerala state around June 1 and retreat by September, are expected to total 96% of the long-term average this year, D S Pai, a senior official at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told reporters.