Summer of weather disruptions: Early showers in May wreck crops, flood cities across India

In a year when India braced for blistering heat waves, May 2025 unleashed unprecedented rainfall activity, catching the country off guard with almost double, or 85.7% more, the rainfall than usual. In fact, central India has seen five times the usual rainfall this month (by May 27) and south India crossed the 2.5 times mark.

The south-west monsoon arrived in Kerala on May 24, eight days earlier than usual and the earliest onset since 2009.

Most parts of the country had been reeling under heat waves in March and April, and the expectation was that it would get worse in May. In the event, most parts of the country did not see any significant or prolonged heat waves. Instead, there were widespread thunderstorms, even hailstorms, which brought down maximum temperatures and spared India a scorching May. However, the unseasonal downpours led to massive crop losses in states such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat and elsewhere.

Now, as the country gears up for Kharif sowing, will May rains affect or decrease the spell of southwest monsoon in any way? Director General of the India Meteorological Department M Mohapatra answered in the negative and told IndiaSpend, “Long range, seasonal rainfall is not dependent on May rainfall. There is no...

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