Weather update: Relief from heatwave soon as IMD predicts above normal rainfall, monsoon arrival from May 14
Weather update: The IMD said overall rainfall across the country in May is expected to remain above normal, though parts of east, northeast and east central India may see below normal precipitation.
Relief is likely to come soon from the existing heatwave conditions across the country, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting above-normal rainfall in May and the arrival of the southwest monsoon over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands around May 14 to 16.
However, above normal heatwave days are still likely to persist in parts of the Himalayan foothills, east coast states, Gujarat and Maharashtra during the month, the IMD said in its monthly forecast.
The department noted that rainfall averaged over the country as a whole during May is most likely to be above normal, although some parts of east, northeast and east central India may receive below normal rainfall.
Director General of Meteorology, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, said that minimum temperatures in May 2026 are expected to remain above normal across many parts of the country.
At the same time, several areas of northwest India, along with parts of central India and adjoining regions of peninsular India and southern parts of northeast India, are likely to experience normal to below normal minimum temperatures.
On the monsoon onset, Mohapatra said the southwest monsoon is expected to reach the Andaman and Nicobar Islands between May 14 and 16.
The IMD also said that El Niño Southern Oscillation, ENSO neutral conditions over the equatorial Pacific are gradually evolving towards El Niño, which refers to the periodic warming of waters in the central Pacific Ocean.
According to the latest Monsoon Mission Coupled Forecasting System, El Niño conditions are likely to develop during the southwest monsoon season.
In April, most parts of the country recorded normal to below normal maximum temperatures, except for southern peninsular India where temperatures remained above normal.
The weather department also said that India was affected by 7 western disturbances during April.