HOME > MARKETS > ECONOMY NEWS
  ECONOMY NEWS
ECONOMY
India facing nationwide rainfall deficit of 41% as southwest monsoon stalled over Maharashtra: IMD
Jun-19-2026

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest data has showed that India is facing a nationwide rainfall deficit of 41 per cent between June 4 and June 18, 2026, as the southwest monsoon stalled over southern Maharashtra. As per the data, the country has received just 42.6 mm of rainfall against the normal 72.2 mm during the above-mentioned period.

IMD’s region-wise rainfall departure map showed rainfall deficits of 67 per cent in central India, 42 per cent in east and northeast India, 22 per cent in the southern peninsula, and 6 per cent in northwest India. The department attributed the slowdown in the monsoon’s advance to the absence of favourable large-scale meteorological conditions, which has prevented it from progressing into the remaining parts of Maharashtra over the past few days.

The IMD identified five key factors behind the slowdown in the monsoon’s northward progress, including the lack of a strong surge from the Arabian Sea, low-level southwesterly winds associated with the monsoon circulation, and weak cross-equatorial flow over the western Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. It explained that during an active monsoon phase, increased cloud formation over southern India is carried northward by monsoon winds, resulting in enhanced rainfall. In the absence of such conditions, rainfall activity across most parts of Maharashtra is likely to remain isolated over the next four to five days.

The sluggish progress of the southwest monsoon, combined with the recent emergence of El Nino conditions over the equatorial Pacific Ocean - which leads to less rainfall in India - could have significant implications for kharif crops that depend on timely monsoon rains. Recently, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had directed officials to identify districts that may face low or uneven rainfall and prepare crop-specific contingency plans in coordination with state governments. 

  RELATED NEWS >>