El Nino Puts India On Track For Its Driest Monsoon In 17 Years

India is on course for its driest monsoon in 17 years as a strengthening El Nino curbs rainfall, threatening crop yields and raising food-price risks.Cumulative rainfall during the June to September monsoon season is 15% below the long-term average so far, according to the India Meteorological Department. If the deficit persists, it would be the weakest monsoon since 2009, when precipitation was 18% below normal. The weather office had forecast a 10% shortfall for this season back in May.Conditions may become favorable for a tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal in the last week of September, said Christian Werner, managing director of Australia-based consultancy Global Weather Climate Analytics.