This year’s southwest monsoon has ended on a dry note. The IMD said on Wednesday that India received 759 mm of rain against the normal 868.6 mm, a shortfall of 12.6 per cent and the fourth-lowest total since 2001.
According to the weather office, rainfall across India is likely to fall short of average in October. Most parts of the country are also expected to receive below-normal rainfall over the October-December period as a whole.
The below-normal forecast follows a deficient June-September southwest monsoon, a season vital to India’s farming and water resources.
According to the IMD, the monsoon season normally brings 868.6 mm of rainfall to India, but this year’s total stood at 759 mm.
The weather department official said most parts of India are likely to receive below-normal rainfall during the October-December period, indicating that the rainfall deficit could persist beyond the southwest monsoon season.
What does the data show?
East India recorded the highest rainfall deficit at 25 per cent below the LPA, followed by South India at 24 per cent. Northwest India and Central India recorded relatively smaller deficits of 6 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. Of the 36 meteorological subdivisions, 17 received deficient rainfall, 18 recorded normal rainfall, and one reported excess rainfall.
Between September 1 and 28, all-India rainfall was 5 per cent below the LPA. However, a recent improvement in rainfall has helped narrow the overall deficit. The report noted that the IOD index has entered the positive zone at 0.76, which could partly offset the adverse impact of El Niño in the coming days.
The rainfall deficit has also coincided with lower kharif sowing compared with last year. As of September 25, 2026, around 110.8 million hectares had been sown, down 1.2 per cent from 112.1 million hectares during the corresponding period last year. However, the area sown stood at 100.3 per cent of the normal level.
The decline in kharif acreage was mainly driven by rice, with sowing falling 3.6 per cent year-on-year to 43.1 million hectares. In contrast, pulses acreage increased 2 per cent from a year earlier, supported by a 12.4 per cent rise in urad sowing and a 2.8 per cent increase in arhar acreage. Moong acreage, however, declined 3.7 per cent year-on-year, the report said.