Pune, 8th August 2026: About 40% of India’s geographical area, covering 16 meteorological subdivisions and six districts in Maharashtra, recorded deficient rainfall between June 1 and August 5.
However, Maharashtra received 6% more rainfall than its long-term average during the period, while the country as a whole recorded 11.5% less than normal rainfall.
The monsoon progressed slowly in June, resulting in below-normal rainfall across several parts of Maharashtra. The situation changed in July, when four low-pressure systems developed over the Bay of Bengal. Three of these intensified and moved into a favourable position for Maharashtra, bringing widespread rainfall across the state.
Maharashtra received 40% more rainfall than normal in July, while rainfall across India was 1% above the monthly average. The strong July rainfall indicates that El Niño has not yet had a significant adverse impact on Maharashtra’s monsoon.
From June 1 to August 5, rainfall varied considerably across Maharashtra:
Konkan: 2% below normal
Madhya Maharashtra: 36% above normal
Marathwada: 10% below normal
Vidarbha: 11% below normal
Konkan, Marathwada and Vidarbha remained within the normal rainfall category, while Madhya Maharashtra recorded excess rainfall.
At the district level, Pune and Nashik recorded excess rainfall of more than 60% above normal, placing them in the excessive rainfall category.
Six districts recorded deficient rainfall:
Sindhudurg
Nandurbar
Solapur
Jalna
Beed
Hingoli
Palghar, Mumbai, Jalgaon and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar recorded rainfall between 20% and 59% above normal.
At the national level, Ladakh recorded rainfall in the excessive category, while Odisha received excess rainfall.
Several states and regions, including Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, remained in the normal rainfall category.
Meanwhile, deficient rainfall was reported in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Puducherry and Lakshadweep.
Overall, the strong rainfall in Maharashtra during July has helped compensate for the weak start to the monsoon and has so far prevented a clear adverse impact of El Niño on the state’s rainfall pattern.
