India’s meteorological department on Wednesday issued a heatwave warning for Orissa and two other states, with temperatures forecast to top 45C in the coming days.
Officials have forecast an above-average monsoon this year, offering hope for struggling farmers who rely heavily on the annual rains. India’s agriculture sector employs about 60% of the population.
In 2012, the Business Standard reported that the India Meteorological Department were only accurate 10 times in the last 25 years.
In 2009, the monsoon was predicted to bring average amounts of rain, but the monsoon was actually the worst in nearly four decades, with a deficiency of more than 20 percent.
The monsoon rains are expected to start to start in June, and the country’s 263 million farmers will be closely watching the skies.