May in India is usually a story of blistering sun and relentless heatwaves, but 2025 has rewritten that script in dramatic fashion. Instead of scorching temperatures, this month has brought persistent downpours, thunderstorms, and unseasonal weather to vast swathes of the country a rare and remarkable shift from the norm.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the surprising spell of rain is a result of two powerful factors converging: an earlier-than-usual arrival of southwest monsoon winds and an unusually high frequency of western disturbances (WDs). Between five and seven of these extratropical weather systems which usually affect northwestern India during winter were recorded in May alone, well above average.
This extended activity of WDs into the pre-monsoon season has set off a chain reaction of weather anomalies. Thunderstorms, dust storms, and heavy showers have swept across northern, central, and even parts of southern India. Delhi, for instance, shattered a 124-year record by logging its wettest May since 1901.
Elsewhere, the impact has been just as striking. Dry regions such as Marathwada in Maharashtra and northern Karnataka experienced sustained rainfall in the fourth week of May a rare occurrence in areas more accustomed to parched conditions. In central India, regions like Rayalaseema and Vidarbha began receiving excessive rainfall as early as the first week of the month.
Nowhere was the rainfall reversal more dramatic than in Maharashtra’s Latur district. Famously prone to drought, the district started May with a 75% rainfall deficit. By the end of the month, that had turned into a staggering 2,000% surplus, leading to flash floods and localised inundation events virtually unheard of in the region’s arid climate.
While this rain-drenched May brought temporary relief from the usual heat stress, it has delivered a serious blow to agriculture. Farmers across Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat have reported crop damage from the unseasonal downpours. In Uttar Pradesh, the state’s prized mango orchards suffered, as erratic rainfall interfered with both flowering and fruiting cycles.
This abrupt change in seasonal behavior underscores a growing challenge: climate variability is no longer a distant threat but a present reality. May 2025’s unpredictable rainfall has not only broken records it has left behind flooded fields, shaken farmers, and a country once again reminded of nature’s shifting patterns.