Deluge of plenty

From bumper sowing to pest attacks and devastating floods, monsoon 2025 is leaving a mixed legacy

- SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

The southwest monsoon has entered its final lap, with September marking the last month of its four-month cycle over India. Early signs suggest the season will close on a surplus, as forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). But while Monsoon 2025 looks set to end with a bang, its excess has brought both bounty to farms and devastation to fields, homes and lives across large parts of the country.

Adding to that, the withdrawal pattern of the monsoon has shifted.

Traditionally beginning in the first week of September, the official withdrawal date is now September 17-well past the halfway mark of the month. With forecast of more rains, clearly, monsoon is here to stay for a while.

A season of surpluses

IMD data shows that since the 1980s, September has more often than not recorded rainfall above its long period average of 167.9 millimetres (mm), barring only seven years: 1986, 1991, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2015 and 2019.

This year, rainfall has consistently beaten averages across the season. All-India cumulative rainfall was 8.9 per cent above normal in June, 4.8 per cent in July, and 5.2 per cent in August.

Except for patches of east and northeast Indiacovering states like Bihar, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur-the rest of the country has seen normal to above-normal rains.

This makes 2025 one of the most well-distributed southwest monsoon seasons. What also stands out is not just the quantum of rainfall but also its spread and timeliness.

The distribution has been unusually uniform, with very few prolonged dry spells, something not commonly seen even in other "normal" monsoon years.

Boost to kharif acreage

The abundant rainfall has translated into strong kharif sowing, higher reservoir levels, and healthy root-zone soil moisture that bodes well for the upcoming rabi sowing.