Once the wettest place on Earth, Meghalaya is now facing a rainfall deficit
The state of Meghalaya, historically one of the wettest regions on Earth, is facing an unprecedented rainfall deficit, with figures 56% below normal in 2025.
This alarming trend, supported by long-term studies, threatens the livelihoods of farmers and the unique biodiversity of the region, as climate change continues to alter global weather patterns.
Meghalaya, often called the Abode of Clouds, in north-eastern India, is home to Mawsynram and Cherrapunji — two of the wettest places on the planet. In this rain-soaked state, where 83 per cent of the population depends on rain-fed agriculture, the monsoon is telling a very different story this year.
In the 2025 Southwest Monsoon season, Meghalaya recorded the highest rainfall deficit in the country, 56 per cent below normal. In absolute terms, it received less rainfall than even drier states like Jharkhand. From June 1 to July 28, Meghalaya received just 690.7 millimetres of rain, compared with a normal 1,555.4 mm. Meanwhile, Jharkhand received 732.6 mm, well above its usual 478.3 mm, an excess of 53 per cent. In fact, seven states and Union Territories received more rainfall than Meghalaya this season, most of them places that are usually far drier. Only Goa, among them, typically sees more rain than Meghalaya at this time.
This alarming shortfall is not a one-off. Long-term data indicate a worrying trend. A 2022 study published in the Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing found that central Meghalaya was once the rainiest part of the state in the 1950s. But over time, drier zones have expanded across the west, centre and north. The study used the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) to assess rainfall variability from 1951 to 2020. It highlighted that recent decades have seen relatively wetter conditions only in the southern and south-eastern districts, such as East Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and South West Khasi Hills.
Further evidence comes from the India Meteorological Department. According to its analysis of monsoon rainfall from 1989 to 2018, Meghalaya is one of five Indian states experiencing a significant decrease in monsoon rainfall, along with Nagaland, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Even Cherrapunji, once the world’s rain capital, has not been spared. A 2021 study that examined rainfall over 135 years, from 1872 to 2007, found a decreasing trend in seven out of twelve months. While Meghalaya’s overall rainfall may still be higher than many other regions in India, the downward trend poses serious threats to its ecosystems, its crops and its people. The state lies within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, one of only four in India and 34 in the world. Species that have evolved to thrive in consistently wet conditions may now be at risk.
For the thousands of farmers in the state, changing rainfall patterns are not just statistics, they are a question of survival. And as global warming continues to reshape our climate, even the Abode of Clouds is no longer assured of its rain.