PANAJI
Goa has recorded a 34 per cent deficit in seasonal southwest monsoon rainfall, making it one of the country’s more rainfall-deficient States this season whereas the overall deficit across the Indian subcontinent stands at 13 per cent. The shortfall comes after one of the driest Julys in recent years.
Meteorologist and former National Institute of Oceanography chief scientist M R Ramesh Kumar told The Goan that the State has received substantially lower rainfall than in the last two monsoon seasons.
While July brought only 662 mm of rain this year, the corresponding figures stood at 1,986 mm in 2024 and 1,777 mm in 2023 – a sharp decline in precipitation.
The contrast is evident across Goa's rain-gauge network as Sanguem recorded the highest cumulative rainfall so far this season at 1,716 mm, followed closely by Dharbandora with 1,669 mm.
In comparison, several coastal and urban centres have remained below the 1,000 mm mark. Panaji has received 841 mm of rainfall, Mapusa 970 mm, Mormugao 946 mm and Dabolim 929 mm. Overall, five of Goa's 14 rain-gauge stations have recorded less than 1,000 mm of rainfall so far this season.
Kumar said the cumulative rainfall figures indicate that July 2026 ranks among the driest monsoon months in recent memory, with rainfall amounting to less than half -- or in some places barely a third -- of what Goa received during the exceptionally wet monsoon seasons of 2023 and 2024.
The State has been on yellow alert till August 2 with IMD Goa forecasting heavy rainfall accompanied by gusty winds at few places.
