Southwest Monsoon | Rainfall Deficit and Kharif Risk | Best Current Affairs For UPSC

2026-06-20 GS 1 - Indian Geography Secondary / GS 3 - Agriculture and Disaster ManagementMediumSource: The Hindu / Indian Express

Summary of News

India faced a sharp early-season rainfall deficit because the southwest monsoon slowed down over parts of Maharashtra and central India.
In the early phase of the 2026 southwest monsoon, all-India rainfall deficit was reported to be around 41%.
This delay affected the beginning of the kharif sowing season, especially for crops like paddy, cotton, soybean and pulses.
The issue became important because weak early monsoon can affect farming, water storage, food prices and rural income.

The southwest monsoon usually reaches Kerala around 1 June and slowly covers most of India by mid-July.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) uses Long Period Average (LPA) to judge whether monsoon rainfall is normal, below normal or above normal.
A monsoon is generally called normal when rainfall is around 96% to 104% of LPA.
In 2026, the monsoon concern was also linked with possible El Nino conditions, which usually weaken the Indian monsoon.

This news is important because it helps revise the static geography topic of Indian monsoon mechanism.
It also connects geography with economy because monsoon affects kharif crops, food inflation, reservoir storage, rural demand and farmers’ income.

With reference to the Indian southwest monsoon, consider the following statements:

IMD treats seasonal rainfall between 96% and 104% of the Long Period Average as normal monsoon rainfall.
A monsoon break necessarily means that the southwest monsoon has withdrawn from the areas it had already covered.
El Nino generally suppresses the Indian monsoon, but it does not by itself prove nationwide drought in every region.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

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