Countrywide rainfall in this monsoon season remains 6% below normal levels at the end of July, as insufficient rainfall in east and northeast regions continues to weigh down on the overall performance, the weather office has said.Rainfall in July remained 6% below normal on the back of 5% deficit in June, the first month of the monsoon season that lasts till the end of September, according to data from India Meteorological Department (IMD).This is despite 83% area of the country receiving normal rainfall since June 1. East and northeast India has recorded 27% deficit since the start of the monsoon season.The situation is expected to improve because east and northeast India are getting good rains at present. “With the ongoing spell of heavy rainfall in the region likely to continue, it will help bring down the countrywide deficit,” said D S Pai, director for long-range forecasts at IMD.Experts said that while 6% deficit is a normal deviation from the normal range, distribution of rainfall is more important. “The distribution of the rainfall is a bigger worry than the quantum,” said DK Joshi, chief economist at leading rating firm Crisil. “Deficient rainfall in east and northeast India is a worry for crops like rice,” he said.However, rainfall in key crop growing regions of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh has improved this month. Rainfall this week is likely to remain concentrated over east and north-eastern states, Uttar Pradesh and few states in south peninsular region. In the remaining parts of the country, however, rainfall is likely to remain patchy, weather forecasters said.“This is a normal course of monsoon, with circulation shifting from one region to another. After a week or so, rainfall over Central India is likely to increase,” said Pai of IMD.This season’s rainfall figures dwindled after the southwest monsoon saw around 12 days’ hiatus in its course of progression in the third week of June.The fear of a similar hiatus in August looms large, independent forecasters Skymet and Accuweather have warned. “A break in monsoon happens usually during the month of August and sometimes it ends up being a prolonged one,” Skymet said on Tuesday.