India's IMD warns of El Niño effects on monsoon and explains forecasting methods

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has officially confirmed the onset of an El Niño event and cautioned that it could intensify extreme weather during the upcoming southwest monsoon. The department warned that rainfall distribution may become uneven, with some regions experiencing heavy downpours, floods and landslides, while others face drought and severe heatwaves. These conditions could damage key crops such as rice, cotton, peanuts, soybean and sugarcane, strain water supplies and pose health risks, especially to the elderly, children and outdoor workers.

IMD also detailed the advanced tools it uses to forecast such events, including Doppler weather radars, satellite observations, a network of ground monitoring stations, weather balloons, and a high‑performance supercomputer that processes billions of data points. These systems enable real‑time tracking of cloud movements, precipitation intensity, wind patterns and sea‑surface temperatures, supporting early warnings and disaster‑management planning across the country.