Once celebrated as the “Abode of Clouds” and home to the world’s wettest places like Mawsynram and Cherrapunji, Meghalaya is now grappling with a dramatic 56% rainfall deficit this monsoon season the highest among all Indian states and union territories in 2025.
Between June 1 and July 28, the state received just 690.7 mm of rainfall compared to the expected 1,555.4 mm, even falling behind relatively drier regions like Jharkhand, which saw a 53% surplus. Long-term trends suggest this isn’t a temporary blip, but part of a worrying and consistent drying pattern affecting water security, biodiversity, and livelihoods across Meghalaya.
A Century of Rainfall Decline
Multiple scientific studies confirm that rainfall across central, western, and northern Meghalaya has been decreasing over decades. One study, published in 2022 by the Central Agricultural University, Sikkim, analysed rainfall trends from 1951 to 2020 using the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI). The data revealed shrinking wet zones and expansion of drier areas, particularly post-monsoon.
The southern districts like East Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, and Southwest Khasi Hills still receive higher rainfall, but the intensity and spread are not what they used to be. Even Cherrapunji, once crowned the wettest place on Earth, has shown decreasing rainfall in seven months of the year over a 135-year period from 1872 to 2007.
Climate Change Growing Footprint
An analysis by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) from 1989–2018 placed Meghalaya among five states with a significantly decreasing monsoon rainfall trend. The same trend is visible in Nagaland, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, with broader impacts also reported in Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
These findings were echoed in a 2023 Lok Sabha response from the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, raising national concern over changing monsoon behaviour in vulnerable, biodiversity-rich regions.
What This Means for Meghalaya
With 83% of Meghalaya population dependent on rain-fed agriculture, and nearly half of its land cultivable, reduced rainfall threatens not just crops but livelihoods, food security, and the delicate Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot home to countless endemic plant and animal species.
Researchers warn that the ecological and agricultural consequences of sustained rainfall decline could be devastating if not addressed with adaptive measures and further research.
As monsoons become more unpredictable under the shadow of climate change, Meghalaya transformation from the “Abode of Clouds” to a state facing water stress signals a critical moment. It’s no longer just about record rainfall it about resilience in a rapidly changing climate.