India recorded its lowest monsoon rainfall in over a decade during the June–September season, with precipitation 12.6% below the long-term average. This marks the sharpest shortfall since 2015, when rainfall was 12.7% below normal. Southern peninsular India experienced the largest deficit at 28%, followed by East and Northeast India with a 25% shortfall. Maharashtra, for instance, declared 265 talukas as drought-affected due to severe rainfall deficits.