Durga Puja revellers across most of the Northeast can look forward to largely rain-free celebrations through Vijaya Dashami on October 21, with the India Meteorological Department forecasting predominantly dry weather over the region for the remainder of the festivities.
A senior IMD official said on Friday that dry weather was very likely to prevail across all eight Northeastern states — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura — over the coming days, although light rainfall could still occur at isolated places.
Day temperatures are expected to remain 2-4 degrees Celsius above normal over the next five days, while night temperatures are likely to stay near normal, the official said.
The forecast comes as welcome news for devotees visiting Puja pandals and taking part in religious and cultural programmes during the five-day festivities, which began on Friday amid colourful decorations, elaborate pandals and celebrations across the region.
Meanwhile, the Southwest monsoon has withdrawn from the entire Northeastern region as of October 15, close to its normal withdrawal date, IMD officials said. “Last year, the Southwest monsoon withdrew from the entire Northeastern region on October 14,” a senior IMD official noted.
The withdrawal marks the end of this year’s monsoon season in the region, paving the way for a gradual transition towards cooler weather in the coming weeks. Although winter conditions are likely to become more noticeable towards the latter part of November, both maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to decline steadily from now onwards, the official said.
The Southwest monsoon had advanced into substantial parts of the Northeast on June 7, two days later than its normal onset date, and covered the entire region by June 10, marking the beginning of the four-month rainy season.
Despite the monsoon covering all eight states by June 10, the region recorded a 26 per cent deficit in average rainfall during the June-September period, officials at the IMD Meteorological Centres in Guwahati and Agartala said.
The largely dry forecast for the Puja period comes as the region moves out of the monsoon season, with temperatures expected to ease gradually in the weeks ahead, offering pleasant conditions for pandal-hopping and festive gatherings across the Northeast.
Original Source: https://assamtribune.com/north-east/durga-puja-likely-to-remain-largely-rain-free-across-northeast-says-imd-1620511
Category: North East,Featured
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Publish Date: 2026-10-17 14:34:00
