Today marks an important weather milestone: the India Meteorological Department will hold its press conference this afternoon at 4 PM at the Ministry of Earth Sciences in New Delhi to release the Long-Range Forecast for the Southwest Monsoon 2026. Dr. M. Mohapatra, Director General of IMD, will address the media. The monsoon forecast sets the tone for agriculture planning, water management, and economic projections for the year. The country will be watching.
But first, today's weather across the country.
DELHI AND NCR
Delhi is entering early summer with temperatures hovering between 34–39 degrees Celsius during the day and around 23 degrees at night. The IMD's official site shows partly cloudy skies today, with northwesterly winds around 7–8 kmph. Air quality remains in the poor-to-moderate range, with afternoon dust and heat compounding the pollution buildup.
From Thursday onwards, the mercury is expected to touch 40 degrees Celsius. IMD has flagged that dry, hot conditions are settling in as western disturbance activity — which gave Delhi a cooler spell and its coldest April day in three years on April 7 — has now moved out of the region. The brief relief is over. Summer is asserting itself.
No significant rainfall is expected in Delhi through at least mid-April. Residents dealing with the afternoon heat should expect minimal wind relief.
RAJASTHAN
Rajasthan is already touching heatwave thresholds. Severe dry heat conditions are being recorded, particularly in central and western districts. IMD has described this as extreme heat building toward official heatwave classification. Residents in Jaisalmer, Barmer, and Bikaner should expect temperatures above 42 degrees Celsius this week.
UTTAR PRADESH
Lucknow and nearby zones are seeing rising heat. Temperatures are climbing through the mid-30s and are expected to touch 38–40 degrees by the middle of this week.
MUMBAI
Coastal humidity is already making its presence felt. Mumbai is experiencing warm, sticky conditions with sea breeze providing limited relief in the evenings. Temperatures are in the low-to-mid 30s. No significant rainfall expected.
CHENNAI AND TAMIL NADU
Tamil Nadu's interior regions are warmer than the coastal belt. Chennai is seeing hot afternoons with temperatures in the mid-30s. Coastal breeze conditions continue to provide some stability along the shoreline.
JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Light snowfall remains possible in higher reaches, particularly in isolated zones of the Srinagar Valley and the Pir Panjal region. Cold conditions continue at higher elevations. The contrast between the plains and the mountains is sharp right now — while Delhi bakes, the upper reaches of J&K are still seeing winter conditions.
NORTHEAST INDIA
Scattered rain activity continues in Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh, as is typical for this time of year. These states are transitioning toward their wetter spring period ahead of the full monsoon onset.
KARNATAKA AND HYDERABAD
Hyderabad is seeing severe heat stress through peak afternoon hours. Bengaluru, which typically has a more moderate climate, is also warming up, with temperatures likely to touch the upper 30s this week.
THE BIG FORECAST: MONSOON 2026
This afternoon's IMD press conference is the one weather event that matters most for India's next six months. The southwest monsoon typically makes landfall in Kerala around June 1. The long-range forecast released today will give an indication of whether 2026 will be a normal, above-normal, or deficient monsoon year.
Context matters here: India has had broadly normal monsoon years in 2023, 2024, and 2025, though with uneven distribution across regions. The El Niño cycle, which typically suppresses rainfall in South Asia, has been monitored closely. IMD's seasonal model and international climate data will factor into today's projections.
A below-normal monsoon forecast would raise immediate concerns for food production, reservoir levels, and rural incomes. Agriculture directly supports over 40 percent of India's workforce, and kharif crop sowing decisions — for rice, pulses, oilseeds — are shaped substantially by monsoon expectations.
IMD will also release state-level projections. North India, the Northeast, central India, and peninsular India may have different outlooks. Watch for the June-September cumulative rainfall figure, which is the standard benchmark. A range of 96–104 percent of the Long Period Average is considered "normal." Anything below 90 percent is a drought warning.
Details will be updated as the 4 PM press conference concludes.