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Punjab faces worst floods in four decades
With 74% surplus rainfall over the benchmark in Punjab flooded 70,000 hectares of farmland out of 4.24 million hectares of arable land in the state and submerged paddy, sugarcane and cotton crops across districts, Crisil has stated.
The floods also severely damaged horticulture crops in the state.
An agriculture ministry official had stated that preliminary reports suggest around 0.15 million hectare (Mha) out of 3 Mha of paddy crop has been impacted by the submergence in Punjab,
Punjab contributed 39%, or 30 million tonne (MT) of the wheat, and 33%, or 54 MT of the rice procured by government agencies in 2024–25.
Inflation risks if rainfall damage persists
Heavy rainfall has damaged bajra, jowar, soybean, groundnut, green gram and black gram across Ajmer, Tonk, Kota, Bundi, Jaipur and Dausa.
In August, rainfall in Punjab and Telangana exceeded the normal by over 50%, with Punjab facing its worst floods in four decades.
The crisil said “localised flooding has caused limited stress in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Paddy, maize and cotton have been mostly unaffected, though yield has declined for pulses – black and green gram – from flower drop,”.
The report stated that the rainfall pattern in September will be critical as it coincides with a key growth stage for paddy, cotton, soybean, maize and onion. “Any further production losses could intensify supply-side pressures, raise food inflation risks and weigh on consumption and price stability,” Crisil stated.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday conducted an aerial survey of flood affected areas in Punjab and announced financial assistance of Rs 1600 crore in addition to the Rs 12,000 crore already in the state’s kitty, according to an official statement.
According to IMD, rainfall between June 1 and September 9 stood at 824 mm, which is 108.3% of the benchmark – long period average (LPA) or ‘above normal’ range. LPA is 87 cm or the average seasonal rainfall between 1971-2020 period
States have recorded massive rainfall surpluses—Rajasthan (73%), Punjab (55%), J&K (41%), Himachal Pradesh (45%), Gujarat (30%), Madhya Pradesh (23%), Uttarakhand (22%) and Telangana (20%).
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In contrast, Bihar (-32%) and Assam (-34%) have received much deficient rainfall.
Rainfall in June, July and August 2025 was 109%, 105% and 105% of the LPA, respectively. IMD has predicted ‘above normal’ or at 109% of the LPA in September. The country gets about 76% of annual rainfall during the south-west monsoon season (April-June).
The government has set a record target of 354.64 million tonnes of foodgrain output in 2025–26.