Drought Conditions Spread Across India, Farmers Put On Edge

Large parts of India entered July under worsening drought conditions, with the situation looking considerably more severe than it was at the same time last year. Drought-affected areas are expanding across several states during June 2026, raising concerns over moisture stress at the start of the monsoon season, shows data by the Water and Climate Lab at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar.A comparison of the last week of June 2025 and the last week of June 2026 shows a clear increase in drought-affected regions. While drought conditions in late June 2025 were largely confined to pockets of Jammu & Kashmir, the Northeast, and a few scattered districts elsewhere, the June 2026 map paints a much broader picture. Areas experiencing moderate, severe and even extreme drought have spread across parts of central, eastern, and northeastern India, with fresh pockets also emerging along parts of the western coast majorly in Maharashtra.The deterioration appears closely linked to rainfall patterns during the month.The rainfall data for the last week of June 2026 shows a below-normal rainfall across a large part of the country. Significant rainfall deficits are visible across parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and several northeastern states. Many of these are the same regions where drought intensity increased during the month.In contrast, some parts of northwest India and southern peninsular India received above-normal rainfall, helping keep drought conditions under control there.The progression of drought through June is even more evident in the weekly data. Areas that were largely normal or only mildly affected during the first week of June gradually transitioned into moderate or severe drought categories by the end of the month.Drought Spreads Across India, Putting Farmers on Edge#Datafy pic.twitter.com/rJTK7zYbW6 - NDTV (@ndtv) July 3, 2026For farmers, the timing is critical. June marks the beginning of the kharif sowing season, when crops depend heavily on timely and adequate rainfall. Persistent moisture shortages can delay sowing, affect crop establishment, and increase dependence on irrigation.