Aizawl: Residents of Mizoram’s capital Aizawl reeled under extreme heat on Friday after expected rain failed to arrive, pushing temperatures up under scorching sunlight. The conditions point to a monsoon shortfall compared to previous years.Despite the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting a normal monsoon for Mizoram this year, large parts of the state have recorded a significant rainfall deficit compared with last year, according to Sudheer Kumar Dwivedi, director of IMD’s meteorological centre in Aizawl.“Right now, the monsoon is deficit in the state due to non-occurrence of cyclone or severe weather. But the entire monsoon is expected to be normal,” Dwivedi told TOI.The monsoon reached Mizoram and parts of the northeast on June 6, he said. Aizawl district received 358.6 mm of rainfall in June, compared with 499.6 mm in June last year, a deficit of 28.2%. Kolasib district, bordering Assam and considered the state’s wettest, recorded 201.5 mm in June this year versus 558.2 mm last year, a deficit of 63.9%.With the exception of Serchhip in central Mizoram and southern Lawngtlai — both of which recorded more rainfall than in 2025 — other districts logged lower rainfall during the first month of the monsoon season.
