India has received 7 per cent more rainfall than normal since the onset of the southwest monsoon on June 1, according to the latest data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). However, the seasonal rainfall has been highly uneven across different regions of the country. As of now, the country has recorded 447.8 mm of rainfall against the normal average of 418.9 mm for this period.
States such as Rajasthan, Ladakh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Sikkim have seen what the IMD categorises as "large excess" rainfall. Rajasthan received 384.7 mm of rain, which is 92 per cent above its normal of 200.4 mm. Ladakh, a region that typically gets little rainfall, recorded 30 mm—181 per cent more than its normal 10.7 mm. Sikkim recorded 598.4 mm of rainfall, which is 78 per cent above average. Nagaland and Manipur received 514.5 mm and 457.9 mm respectively, both close to their normal levels but still on the higher side.
Other regions such as Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Assam, and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu have received "excess" rainfall, ranging between 20 per cent to 59 per cent more than normal. Madhya Pradesh recorded 645.8 mm of rainfall—54 per cent above the normal 418.4 mm. Gujarat received 463.2 mm, which is 35 per cent more than its average. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu saw 1,466.1 mm of rainfall, up by 27 per cent from the normal 1,153.8 mm.
Meanwhile, a large number of states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Goa, Tripura, Mizoram, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have received what the IMD considers "normal" rainfall—within 19 per cent above or below the average.
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However, certain regions are facing deficient rainfall, defined as 20 per cent to 59 per cent below normal. Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Maharashtra, Assam, and Lakshadweep fall into this category. Arunachal Pradesh has received 521.8 mm of rainfall compared to its normal of 942.2 mm—a shortfall of 45 per cent. Bihar has received only 272 mm, which is 43 per cent below its normal 474.2 mm.
Earlier in May, the IMD had forecast that India would receive 106 per cent of the long-period average (LPA) rainfall of 87 cm for the monsoon season from June to September. Rainfall between 96 per cent and 104 per cent of this LPA is considered ‘normal’. The forecast had predicted above-normal rainfall for most of the country, except for specific areas like Ladakh, adjoining regions of Himachal Pradesh, the Northeast, and parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha. Some isolated pockets in Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu were also expected to receive below-normal rainfall.
The monsoon remains critical for India’s agricultural economy. It supports the livelihood of nearly 42 per cent of the country’s population and contributes 18.2 per cent to the national GDP. Moreover, the seasonal rains play an essential role in replenishing reservoirs used for drinking water and hydroelectric power generation, making the pattern and distribution of rainfall a matter of national importance.
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