Heavy rains across much of India have offset June's deficit, bringing the monsoon rainfall total into the surplus category.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), further heavy to very heavy rains are likely in northwest India and western peninsular India over the next two to three days and in the northeast over the next five days.

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India, the world's largest producer of major crops such as rice, wheat and sugarcane, recorded a rainfall deficit of 11 percent in June, while in northwest India the deficit was as high as 33 percent.

Heavy rains in the first week of July offset this decline but caused flooding in many northeastern states.

Since the start of the four-month monsoon season on June 1, the country has received 214.9 mm of rainfall (normally 213.3 mm), according to IMD data.

Northwest India and the southern peninsula received three and 13 percent more rainfall than normal, respectively.

Heavy rain in the east and northeast reduced the deficit from 13 percent on June 30 to zero on July 6.

The rainfall deficit in Central India has decreased from 14 percent to 6 percent during this period.

The IMD data showed that 23 percent of the country's sub-districts experienced excess or excessive rainfall, 67 percent experienced normal rainfall and only 10 percent experienced insufficient rainfall.

After making early inroads over Kerala and the northeastern United States on May 30 and continuing normally as far as Maharashtra, the monsoon lost momentum.

This delayed rains in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and exacerbated the impact of a scorching heatwave in northwest India.

The monsoon winds remained stagnant from June 10 to 18 and only slowly picked up by June 26-27. The annual rain system covered much of northwest India after June 25, according to IMD data.

The weather department said on Saturday that heavy rains will continue in northeast India for the next five days.

The northeastern states are already battling severe flooding.

The flood situation in Assam remains critical: more than 2.45 million people are affected and 52 people have died in the second flood wave this year.

Heavy rains in Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have caused rivers to reach warning levels and triggered landslides.

The IMD had said earlier this week that India could experience above-normal rainfall in July and that heavy rains could lead to flooding in the hill states and riverine areas in the centre of the country.

Experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), an intergovernmental organization based in Nepal, also warned of a difficult monsoon season for countries in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan.

IMD data show that in 20 of the 25 years in which June rainfall was below normal (less than 92 percent of the long-term average), July rainfall was normal (94-106 percent of LPA) or above normal.

In 17 of the 25 years when June rainfall was below normal, seasonal rainfall was normal or above normal, the IMD said.