The southwest monsoon arrived in parts of Manipur and Mizoram on Saturday, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced favorable conditions for its advancement across the rest of the northeastern region over the next two to three days.
According to the IMD, this marks the first time in five years that the monsoon has reached parts of the northeast almost on its normal schedule. Heavy rain has been lashing parts of the region over the past 24 hours.
In a special monsoon bulletin on Saturday, the IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) stated: "The southwest monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of west central and east central Arabian Sea, Karnataka, entire Goa, some parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, most parts of Tamil Nadu and southwest Bay of Bengal, some more parts of west central and northeast Bay of Bengal, entire east central Bay of Bengal and some parts of northwest Bay of Bengal, Mizoram and Manipur, today the 6th June, 2026."
The bulletin added that the monsoon is expected to extend to more parts of the northeast over the next two to three days.
In 2024 and 2025, the monsoon reached the northeast earlier—on May 30 and May 24, respectively. In 2022, it arrived on June 2, and in 2023 on June 10. This year, the monsoon set in over Kerala on Thursday and reached the northeast two days later, after Kerala and the northeast saw the monsoon arrive on the same day in 2025.
"This year, due to El Nino effect, there was less monsoon driving force, and that is why the monsoon onset was delayed by a few days in the northeast," said KN Mohan, a senior IMD scientist, to TOI.
The IMD has forecast isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall of 7 to 20 centimeters over northeast India over the next seven days. It warned of heavy rain at isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura on Sunday and Monday.
In the last 24 hours up to 8:30 am Saturday, isolated heavy rainfall of 7 to 11 centimeters was recorded in Meghalaya as the monsoon advanced.
The IMD also forecast fairly widespread to widespread rainfall over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya through June 12, and over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura from June 7 to 12, as the monsoon is expected to cover the entire region in the coming days.
About the Author: Kangkan Kalita is a reporter with The Times of India, covering health, education, human interest stories, political developments, student movements, and environmental issues in the northeast.
