Overview
- The India Meteorological Department announced on Wednesday, Sept. 23 that the southwest monsoon had withdrawn from Delhi and from much of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
- Delhi’s Safdarjung observatory recorded 728.6 mm of rain from June 1 to Sept. 23, about 16% above normal, while the city’s monsoon lasted 83 days, the shortest stretch since 2012.
- Nationwide rainfall remained well below average, with all-India totals about 15% deficient through Sept. 22 and region‑wise shortfalls largest in east and northeast India (around 27%) and the south peninsula (around 26%).
- A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal is forecast to move west‑northwest, cross the north Andhra Pradesh–south Odisha coast, and bring intense local showers plus heavy to very heavy rain in parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh on Sept. 25–26.
- The World Meteorological Organization says El Niño is likely to strengthen and persist into early 2027, a development that could reduce Rabi‑season rainfall, raise temperatures and deepen water and crop stresses in deficit regions.