Moa Jamir
Dimapur | March 1, 2026
Nagaland entered March facing severe dry conditions after official India Meteorological Department (IMD) data showed a near-collapse of winter rainfall: between January 1 and February 28, 2026, the state recorded just 1.9 mm of rain against a seasonal normal of 32.5 mm — a 94% shortfall that places Nagaland in the IMD category “Large Deficient” (LD). LD denotes a rainfall departure of –60% to –99% from normal.
The shortfall was widespread across districts. Kohima, Mon, Kiphire, Phek and Zunheboto recorded no measurable rainfall during the two-month period, despite normals ranging from about 40 mm to more than 50 mm for that season. Data for Longleng, Tuensang and Peren were not available; given the state’s average, precipitation in those districts is presumed negligible or nil.
Where rain was registered it remained well below normal. Dimapur logged 1.4 mm against a normal of 22.3 mm, and Wokha just 1.0 mm versus a seasonal normal of 39.0 mm — both classified as LD. Mokokchung recorded 14.1 mm, the highest in the state for the period, but this was still roughly 60% below its seasonal average.
The winter deficit follows uneven rainfall in 2025. While India overall ended the southwest monsoon with surplus rainfall, the Northeast recorded below-normal monsoon precipitation; the limited monsoon gains were insufficient to offset the subsequent winter shortfall. IMD records note that the NMMT sub-division (Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura) had, however, recorded normal rainfall during the 2025 monsoon season.
Dry conditions persisted into the pre-monsoon period: on March 1, Nagaland reported no measurable rainfall against a normal of 1.1 mm. IMD’s weather bulletin issued on February 28 indicated no widespread rain is expected in the state until March 7, 2026, suggesting near-term relief is unlikely.
The deficit was not limited to Nagaland. For January 1–February 28, 2026, India recorded 16.0 mm of rainfall versus a normal of 39.8 mm (a 60% deficit). Across the Northeast, IMD data show large deficiencies in Arunachal Pradesh (–83%), Assam (–97%), Meghalaya (–91%), Manipur (–99%), Tripura (–99%) and Sikkim (–84%), with Mizoram reporting no rain (–100%) for the period. The cumulative effect of consecutive seasonal shortfalls has left the region under pronounced multi-season rainfall stress.
Original Source: https://www.morungexpress.com/five-districts-record-no-rain-in-2026-as-nagaland-reels-under-large-deficit
Category: Nagaland
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Publish Date: 2026-03-02 00:06:00
