Deficient Rains
Winter rains seen below normal for 4th consecutive year in 2026, says Skymet
This story was originally published at 11:34 IST on 25 February 2026
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026
MUMBAI - Winter rainfall over India has been below normal this year, making it the fourth consecutive season of deficit, private weather forecasting agency Skymet said. During Jan. 1-Feb. 24, the country recorded 15 millimetres of rainfall, which is 58% below normal for the period. Very little rainfall is expected during the remaining days of February, which is likely to lead to winter ending with an even higher shortfall in precipitation. Winter 2026 is likely to end with 60% below normal rainfall recorded during the season, the weather agency said.
India last recorded a surplus in winter rainfall in 2022, which was 47% above normal, the weather agency said. Winter rainfall has been deficient since then, and 2026 is likely to have the "worst performance" in the last decade, the agency said.
Rainfall in January was sparse, though a good spell of showers over the northwestern plains between Jan. 23 and 26 brought temporary relief to the otherwise dry areas. Yet, rainfall during January was 31% below normal, the weather agency said. More rainfall was expected during February, which is typically the wettest winter month. However, so far, February has performed poorer than January, the agency said.
All the four homogenous regions in the country have recorded below-normal rainfall during February. The deficit in all regions is likely to rise over the remaining days of the month. The season may close with an overall shortfall of 60% or more, the weather agency said. End
Reported by Shreya Shetty
Edited by Vandana Hingorani
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
