India in 2025 recorded its fifth driest December since 1901, with the country experiencing 69% below the average rainfall, said the India Meteorological Department on Thursday.

The total rainfall in the country in December was just 4.9 mm. Delhi received no rainfall, making it the second-driest December for the city in the past decade, after 2023, said the weather agency’s Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.

Central India saw its lowest rainfall in more than 124 years, while the eastern and northeastern regions experienced their sixth-lowest December showers. There were only 14 instances of very heavy rainfall in the country, compared to 146 such events in December 2024.

Winter rainfall and snowfall are crucial for water recharge in higher-altitude regions.

Mohapatra attributed the dry weather to several factors, including weak western disturbances, a lack of strong easterly winds, no significant wind interactions over central India and an unfavourable Madden-Julian Oscillation.

The Madden-Julian Oscillation is a large-scale weather pattern near the equator that moves eastward and influences rainfall and wind patterns every 30 to 60 days.

In addition to the lack of rainfall, widespread dense fog affected large areas of the country, with some regions experiencing fog for 15 to 26 days in December, said Mohapatra.

The India Meteorological Department also predicted that dry conditions will persist over northern and northwestern India from January to March. However, central India and Uttar Pradesh are expected to experience above-normal rainfall during the same period.