New Delhi: Monthly rainfall over India as a whole during September is most likely to be below normal, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday in its monthly forecast.
The IMD also said that India experienced the hottest August since 1901, with the mean temperature at 28.01 degrees Celsius.
The weather department said that rainfall is expected to be below 91 per cent of the long period average (LPA) in September.
The LPA refers to the average rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given period over several decades. For September, the LPA is about 167.9 mm based on data between 1971 and 2020.
The IMD also said that during September, the monthly average maximum temperatures are likely to be above normal.
Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology at the IMD, said in a statement that strong El Nino conditions are currently prevailing over the equatorial Pacific Ocean, with sea surface temperature (SST) remaining above normal across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.
“These conditions are expected to strengthen further in the coming months,” he said.
The average minimum temperature for August 2026 was also the highest since 1901, touching 24.36 degrees Celsius against a normal of 23.68 degrees Celsius.
The month also witnessed deficient rainfall of 213.3 mm, the seventh lowest since 2001, the IMD said.
Moderate to strong El Nino conditions were a key reason for the below-normal rainfall, while four low-pressure systems formed during August and collectively persisted for 26 days. However, their rainfall activity remained largely confined to the Indo-Gangetic plains, leaving other parts in rainfall deficit, the IMD said.