PANAJI
Goa has recorded its driest southwest monsoon in more than two decades, with the four-month rainy season ending with a 32 per cent rainfall deficit — the highest recorded in the State since 2006 and the highest in the available India Meteorological Department (IMD) data dating back to 1980. The coastal State also emerged as the fourth most rain-deficient State in the country.
The southwest monsoon season ended on Wednesday, with Goa receiving 2,055.4 mm of rainfall against the normal 3,007.8 mm, according to the IMD’s Goa observatory.
IMD Goa in-charge Nahush Kulkarni said an analysis of rainfall data from 1980 to 2026 showed that this year’s monsoon had recorded the highest-ever deficit of 32 per cent. A deficit was recorded in all four months of the monsoon, a pattern Goa last witnessed in 2015, when the season ended with a cumulative rainfall deficit of 21 per cent.
“June recorded a 35 per cent deficit, while July, which is considered the highest rainfall-contributing month, saw 33 per cent less rainfall. August too recorded a 20 per cent deficit, while September witnessed the highest shortfall of 44 per cent,” Kulkarni said.
He said the delayed onset of the monsoon also contributed to the poor rainfall performance. The southwest monsoon arrived in Goa on June 15, against its normal onset date of June 5, followed by persistent dry spells lasting more than a week.
“Though the rains picked up on June 22, the situation never improved as required,” Kulkarni said.
Explaining the weather pattern, he said typhoons or cyclones over the South China Sea affected moisture transport and disrupted the circulation systems needed to generate normal rainfall over Goa and adjoining areas.
“The absence of an offshore trough and low-pressure belts and depressions worsened the situation further,” he said, adding that although some low-pressure systems developed during the season, they were not strong enough or favourably positioned to bring adequate rainfall to Goa.
Kulkarni said the prolonged rainfall deficiency, particularly during September, made the 2026 monsoon an exceptionally dry season for the State.
According to IMD India data, Goa ranked fourth among the States with the highest rainfall deficit, after Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Punjab.
