The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on 9 July 2026 that the Southwest Monsoon covered the entire country. The monsoon began over Kerala on 4 June and took 36 days to reach the whole country, making it the slowest advance since 2021.
Although the rainfall deficit improved significantly from 40% at the end of June to 14% by 9 July, the IMD has forecast below-normal rainfall (about 94% of the Long Period Average) for July. Central India has received surplus rainfall, helping kharif crop sowing and increasing reservoir storage to over 32% of live capacity. However, eastern and northeastern India continue to face a large rainfall deficit, raising concerns over agriculture and food inflation.
