Monsoon rainfall
- How often
- Every yearEnd of the season: IMD's report in the last days of September or early October
- Last released
- 30 Sep 20262026
2026, down from 108% of LPA in 2025.
Events on this chart
Source: IMD, released 30 Sep 2026 · Chart: Clarity UPSC
- Previous
- 108% of LPA2025
- Highest
- 108% of LPA2024
- Lowest
- 87% of LPA2026
4 readings since 2022.
Story
How much rain the June–September monsoon brought, against the long-term average.
What is happening now As of 2026
The 2026 southwest monsoon brought 759.4 mm of rain, 87% of the Long Period Average (LPA), so the India Meteorological Department (IMD) classed the season as deficient. It was the fourth-lowest total since 2001; the 2025 season had brought 108%. June got 65% of its normal rain, as no low-pressure system formed that month; July got 101%, August 84% and September 92%.
The shortfall was uneven. East and Northeast India got 74% of its average, its lowest total since 1901, and the South Peninsula 76%, while Northwest and Central India stayed within their normal range. The Monsoon Core Zone, home to most rain-fed farming, got 779.9 mm, below its normal range. El Niño conditions developed in June and were strong by the end of the season. In October 2026 the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) named the deficient monsoon and El Niño as risks to farm output, rural demand and inflation.
Why it matters
Much of India's farmland depends on rain, and the kharif crops grow during the monsoon months. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines a Monsoon Core Zone that covers most rain-fed farming areas. A good season lifts harvests and farm incomes; a poor one cuts output and leaves rural households with less to spend.
Weak rain also reaches city households through food prices. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) counts the monsoon among the risks to inflation and to rural demand when it sets interest rates.
What it is
Monsoon rainfall is reported as the rain that fell over India in the southwest monsoon season, June to September, as a percentage of the Long Period Average (LPA). The LPA is the average seasonal rainfall for the country over 1971–2020, about 87 cm.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) totals the season's rainfall and compares it with the LPA. It calls the season deficient below 90%, below normal at 90–95%, normal at 96–104%, above normal at 105–110% and excess above 110%.
Rain-fed farming depends on the monsoon: IMD tracks a Monsoon Core Zone that covers most rain-fed farming regions. The all-India figure can hide regional gaps; in 2022 the country got 106% of its LPA while East and Northeast India got 82%.
Read this number
- The publisher
- The India Meteorological Department, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, measures and forecasts the monsoon.
Terms on this page (3)
- IMD
- India Meteorological Department
- LPA
- Long Period Average
- RBI
- Reserve Bank of India
History
- 2003The India Meteorological Department (IMD) begins forecasting the season in two stages: in April, with an update at the end of May.
- 2021IMD adopts a new forecast strategy using a multi-model ensemble of climate models and adds monthly forecasts.
- 2022IMD's end-May forecast covers the newly introduced Monsoon Core Zone.
Readings
| Period | Value | Status | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 87% of LPA | Final | 30 Sep 2026 |
| 2025 | 108% of LPA | Final | 30 Sep 2025 |
| 2024 | 108% of LPA | Final | 1 Oct 2024 |
| 2022 | 106% of LPA | Final | 1 Oct 2022 |
For UPSC
Know the Long Period Average (LPA), the 1971–2020 mean of about 87 cm, and the five rainfall categories of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Know that the season runs from June to September, with normal onset over Kerala on 1 June.