Gurugram gets 17% excess rain in August as Haryana records deficit: IMD

The district received 217.4mm against a normal of 185.1mm, while the state ended the month with a 5% rainfall shortfall.

Haryana recorded its first rainfall deficit for August in three years, receiving 138.5 mm of rain against the normal 146.1 mm, a shortfall of 5%, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.

The district logged 58% above-normal rainfall during the week of August 21-27, even as six Haryana districts remained deficient. (HT Archive)

The state’s rainfall departure for the month stood at -5%. Six Haryana districts recorded deficient or largely deficient rainfall in August, even as most districts remained in the normal rainfall category.

Gurugram recorded 217.4 mm of rainfall against a normal of 185.1 mm, a surplus of 17%, placing the district in the normal rainfall category, as per IMD. The city received 66.5 mm of rainfall between August 21 and 27, which was 58% above its normal weekly rainfall.

Among the districts with deficient rainfall, Ambala recorded a 37% deficit, Jind 51%, Kaithal 49%, Mahendergarh 27% and Sirsa 24%. Karnal recorded large deficient rainfall, with a deficit of 68%.

Meanwhile, Bhiwani recorded the highest excess rainfall in Haryana, with a 41% positive departure from normal. The district received 138.8 mm of rainfall against the normal 98.6 mm. Fatehabad and Palwal recorded a 24% excess each, while Nuh recorded a 25% excess.

The August deficit marked a shift from the previous two years, when Haryana recorded a 32% surplus in August 2025 and a 26% surplus in August 2024. In August 2023, the state had recorded a deficit of 60%.

The state had also recorded a rainfall deficit in July, receiving 109 mm of rain, 27% below the monthly normal of around 150 mm. Eighteen of Haryana’s 22 districts recorded deficient rainfall that month. The rainfall pattern improved in August, however, with the statewide deficit narrowing to 5% and most districts falling in the normal rainfall category.

An IMD official told HT that the uneven monsoon this year comes amid the development of El Niño conditions over the equatorial Pacific. “We already saw it coming that Northern India will receive comparatively less monsoon rain. Northern Haryana is expected to see moderate to heavy rain after September 1. For long stretches during June, July and August, the main rain-bearing monsoon axis remained shifted away from the Haryana-Punjab plains, often favouring Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh or Rajasthan,” he added.

The IMD official told HT that northern Haryana can expect moderate to heavy rainfall, though it will be scattered, during the first week of September. “Gurugram can expect moderate rainfall later this week. However, the coverage will remain isolated.” The official did not specifically explain why Haryana recorded an overall August rainfall deficit despite several districts receiving normal or excess rainfall.