Prolonged fog and dry spell leaves December 5th driest over India : IMD

Central India, too, experienced its lowest rainfall ever during December in over 124 years whereas east and northeast India experienced its 6th lowest rainfall last month.

Overall, there were only 14 very heavy rainfall events (115 – 204mm in 24-hours) last month in comparison to 146 events in 2024 and 144 events in 2023.

Due to below normal rainfall activity, there were above average fog conditions prevailing for 15 to 26 days of December, IMD officials said. Vast areas were affected by dense fog lasting 15 days last month. Drop in visibility due to fog affected regions as far as Odisha and Tripura last month, IMD noted.

Dry conditions will continue to prevail over north and northwest India regions during January – March, IMD said.

Winter rainfall and snowfall are particularly key for water recharge along places located along the higher altitudes.

In its monthly forecast released on Thursday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that below normal rainfall will particularly affect Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Punjab and Haryana spanning north and northwest India regions. However, above normal rainfall is predicted over central India region and Uttar Pradesh during the next three months.

During January, the Met department has predicted normal rainfall activity over the country and also over the northwest India region. With good rainfall last year and support of irrigation, the rabi crop would not be majorly impacted, the IMD chief said.
#El Nino in 2026

El Nino, the warmer than usual temperatures prevailing over the equatorial Pacific Ocean, is likely to emerge during the later half of 2026. Multiple global models have indicated that the existing La Nina conditions are expected to last till March this year and will be followed by El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral conditions likely to prevail till July.

It is early to confirm the emergence and predict the intensity of El Nino, and the picture will be clear after the spring barrier fades after February, Mohapatra said.