Monsoon in India: La Nina, a phenomenon associated with the cooling of Pacific waters, will be neutral during this monsoon, raising hope for normal rainfall this year, a senior government official said today. La Nina is widely believed to be good for monsoon while on the contrary El Nino, which is associated with heating of the Pacific waters, is seen to have a negative impact on it. "The La Nina is currently moderate and it will turn neutral at the onset of monsoon and will continue to remain so during the season," M Rajeevan, secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said. The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), a phenomenon associated with the sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean, is also likely to be positive, Rajeevan said.

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He, however, refused to comment whether the monsoon will be normal. "There are several parameters that have to be looked into before giving a forecast of a normal monsoon," Rajeevan added. However, there have been years when there was an El Nino phenomena but the country still received a good monsoon. The southwest monsoon is considered as lifeline of the country as it not only brings rains in the country where agriculture is a major contributor to the economy, but also fills up the reservoirs.