The southwest monsoon was 14 per cent below normal cumulatively across India until September 7, 2026, with the southern peninsula leading the deficit at 27 per cent below-normal rainfall between June 1 and September 7.
With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting more rain in the coming days, the deficit could drop further. The Met department has predicted ‘below-normal’ rain in September as well.
The revival in monsoon rains since July has also aided the acreage of kharif crops. Till September 4, kharif crops have been sown on around 108.6 million hectares of land, which was 1.63 per cent less than the normal acreage of 110.4 million hectares.
Normal acreage is the average area under crops in the last five years. Experts said that with kharif crops suffering some dent due to the sub-par monsoon, food inflation might stay elevated in the coming weeks.
First Published: Sep 08 2026 | 9:16 PM IST
