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Farmers plough a paddy field in Kokrajhar, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) west of Gauhati, India, Wednesday, July 21, 2010. With the arrival of monsoon rains, farming activity has resumed in the paddy fields. ( AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

The monsoon rains across India and Pakistan have yielded higher-than-average rainfall totals for this time of year, a sharp contrast to last year's unreliable and drier-than-normal monsoon.

Consistent rainfalls has helped revive and relieve the region, which a month ago was concerned with lighter-than-normal precipitation. Recent above-average rainfall has gotten India more on track with the rain it typically expects to see this time of year, though it is still 5 percent below normal since the beginning of the monsoon.

The BBC reported in June that hundreds of farmers had committed suicide, many for reasons related to debt and drought.

Across the western parts of India, some of the heaviest rain fell this past week, reinvigorating soybean and sugarcane crops.

Increased planting of oilseeds, rice and sugarcane may also be seen if normal rainfall continues in the next weeks.

India is among the biggest producers of commodities such as rice, sugar, wheat and edible oils. Rain is particularly important in July and August, when much of the soybean crop is planted.

Recent rains bode well for the near future, as there are no major changes in the weather pattern expected for the next several weeks. Average or near to average rainfall is predicted to continue into mid-August.

There is also discussion that the government of India could lift a wheat export ban, especially in light of concerns for a lackluster wheat crop coming from drought-plagued Russia. Discontinuing the ban may relax climbing prices on wheat, which reached a 13-month high in July in part due to heat wave in the Ukraine and Russia.

Pakistan has seen the heaviest downpours as the monsoon moves in from the southeast. Overflowing rivers in Peshawar are responsible for the deaths of at least 28 people. Peshawar is in the mountain foothills in the northern part of the country.

Additionally, homes in Pakistan have collapsed, farm animals have been washed away, a dam was destroyed and crops have been inundated with the flooding rainfall. Pershawar has seen 6.57 inches of rain in the 30 hours ending 11 p.m. Thursday local time.

This is not unusual for the monsoon season and not totally unwelcome as a large percentage of the year's rainfall usually falls in a short period of time.

Pakistani villagers wade through flooded area caused by heavy monsoon rain in a village outskirt of Bannu, Pakistan on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, Rivers burst their banks during monsoon rains, washing away streets, battering a dam and killing at least 28 people. (AP Photo/Ijaz Mohammad)

India has seen less significant precipitation than Pakistan, but for most areas, rain will fall almost every day. After the initial downpour of the monsoon season, a predictable pattern of daily rainfall for at least a couple of hours sets in.

A combination of sunshine, increasing temperatures and unstable atmosphere creates perfect conditions for pop-up showers that quickly dissipate.

The monsoon season typically peaks at this time of year and the amount of rain will taper off next month, and continue on the downward spiral in September. However, as the monsoon season comes to a close, it typically goes out with a final burst of heavy rain.

Monsoon rain may have also been a contributing factor in Wednesday's plane crash in Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, killing all 152 people - including two American citizens - on board.

AccuWeather.com Staff Writer Kirstie Hettinga contributed to this report.

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