Climate, seasons and rainfall of Telangana

Core facts

Climate type: tropical monsoon, hot and mostly semi-arid (dry); far from the sea, so summers are hot and winters cool.
Four IMD seasons: winter (January–February), summer or pre-monsoon (March–May), south-west monsoon (June–September), north-east monsoon or post-monsoon (October–December). State books often call December–February the winter.
Normal annual rainfall: about 900–950 mm. IMD normal 949.5 mm. (Other figures: the state's Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES) used a normal of 863.3 mm for June 2025–February 2026, a period that leaves out March–May; state books and the Statistical Abstract quote 919 mm.)
South-west monsoon gives about 80% of the year's rain (IMD normal 751.9 mm).
North-east monsoon (October–December) gives about 12–13% (IMD normal 123.3 mm).
Wettest month: July; then August.
Highest-rainfall district: Mulugu (north-east, Godavari valley).
Lowest-rainfall districts: Narayanpet and Jogulamba Gadwal (south-west).
Hottest month: May. Coldest: December–January.
Record 24-hour rain: about 65 cm (649.8 mm) at Laxmidevipeta, Venkatapuram mandal, Mulugu, 26–27 July 2023.
Record temperatures (IMD stations): highest 48.6 °C, Bhadrachalam, 9 May 1973; lowest 3.5 °C, Adilabad, 27 December 2017.

Explained

1. What shapes the climate

Latitude: about 16°–20° N, inside the tropics: high sun and heat for most of the year.
Distance from the sea: Telangana is landlocked, so there is no sea breeze to soften summer heat or winter cold.
Altitude: the western plateau (Hyderabad about 500–600 m) is a little cooler than the eastern valleys.
Winds: moist south-west winds in June–September; dry north-east winds in winter, which bring some rain only when Bay of Bengal depressions and cyclones form.

2. The seasons

Season	Months	Weather
Summer (pre-monsoon)	March–May	Rising heat; May hottest; heatwaves mostly in May; evening thunderstorms, hail and lightning; pre-monsoon showers ("mango showers")
South-west monsoon	June–September	Onset usually in the second week of June; covers the state by about the end of June; July–August wettest; most farm (kharif/vanakalam) sowing
North-east monsoon (retreating / post-monsoon)	October–December	Rain from Bay of Bengal low-pressure systems and cyclones; heavier in the south and east
Winter	December/January–February	Dry, clear, cool nights; coldest in the north (Adilabad, Kumuram Bheem Asifabad)

3. Rainfall by season (IMD normals, Telangana sub-division)

Season	Normal (mm)	Share of year
January–February	14.5	about 1.5%
March–May	59.8	about 6%
June–September	751.9	about 79%
October–December	123.3	about 13%
Annual	949.5	100%

Monthly: July 232.7 mm, August 225.5 mm, September 163.3 mm, June 130.4 mm. Driest months: December and February (about 6.7 mm each).

4. Where it rains most and least

Rain increases from south-west to north-east: from about 600–700 mm in the old Mahabubnagar region to over 1,100 mm in the Godavari valley.

Measure	Highest	Lowest
Annual (IMD district normals)	Mulugu (about 1,326 mm); then Adilabad (about 1,165), Bhadradri Kothagudem, Jayashankar Bhupalpally (about 1,145 each)	Narayanpet (about 610 mm); then Jogulamba Gadwal (about 676), Nagarkurnool (about 724)
Annual (TGDPS 2024)	Mulugu 1,338.6 mm	Jogulamba Gadwal 589.4 mm; Narayanpet 619.0 mm
South-west monsoon (IMD)	Mulugu 1,135.4 mm	Narayanpet 435.7 mm
North-east monsoon (IMD)	Khammam 163.8 mm; then Nalgonda	Kumuram Bheem Asifabad (about 95 mm)
Mandal (TGDPS 2024)	Venkatapuram (Mulugu) 1,601.3 mm	Ghattu (Jogulamba Gadwal) 492.9 mm

The north-east monsoon favours the east and south (Khammam, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri), which lie nearer the Bay of Bengal.
Hyderabad's IMD district normal is about 840 mm a year; Adilabad's about 1,165 mm.
North-east monsoon (IMD): Khammam 163.8 mm, then Nalgonda 158.7 mm; Kumuram Bheem Asifabad lowest (about 95 mm) and Adilabad about 104 mm.

5. Temperature

Summer: mean maximum in May is about 40 °C. The Godavari valley towns (Ramagundam, Bhadrachalam, Kothagudem, Mancherial) and Khammam, Nalgonda, Adilabad often report 44–47 °C in heatwaves.
IMD station records (highest maximum): Bhadrachalam 48.6 °C (1973), Hanumakonda 47.8 °C (2003), Khammam 47.6 °C (2015), Nizamabad and Ramagundam 47.3 °C; Hyderabad 45.5 °C (1966).
Winter: the north is coldest. Adilabad recorded 3.5 °C on 27 December 2017; Hyderabad's lowest is 6.1 °C (8 January 1946).
Hyderabad is slightly milder in summer than the valley towns because it stands higher.

6. A recent year: 2025-26 (DES, to 28 February 2026)

Total 1,184.5 mm against a normal of 863.3 mm for June–February: 37% excess.
South-west monsoon 988.4 mm vs 740.6 mm (+33%); north-east monsoon 189.6 mm vs 110.2 mm (+72%); January–February 6.5 mm vs 12.5 mm (−48%).
27 districts excess, 6 normal; of 621 mandals, 460 excess, 158 normal, 3 deficit.
IMD categories: normal = within ±19% of the normal; excess = +20% or more; deficient = −20% to −59%.

Common traps

✗ "The north-east monsoon brings most of Telangana's rain." ✓ The south-west monsoon (June–September) brings about 80%.
✗ "September is the wettest month." ✓ July (then August).
✗ "Adilabad gets the least rain." ✓ Adilabad is among the wettest; the least rain falls in Narayanpet and Jogulamba Gadwal.
✗ "Hyderabad gets the most north-east monsoon rain." ✓ By IMD normals, Khammam gets the most.
✗ "The highest temperature ever recorded in Telangana was at Ramagundam." ✓ The IMD station record is 48.6 °C at Bhadrachalam (9 May 1973); Ramagundam's record is 47.3 °C.
✗ "The record 24-hour rain of July 2023 fell in Bhupalpally town." ✓ At Laxmidevipeta, Venkatapuram mandal, Mulugu (about 65 cm).
✗ "IMD's winter season is December–February." ✓ IMD counts January–February as winter and October–December as the post-monsoon (north-east monsoon) season.
✗ "The hottest month is June." ✓ May; the monsoon cools June.

Quick revision

Tropical monsoon, semi-arid; landlocked, far from sea.
IMD seasons: Jan–Feb, Mar–May, Jun–Sep (SW), Oct–Dec (NE).
IMD annual normal 949.5 mm; SW 751.9 mm (≈80%); NE 123.3 mm.
Wettest month July; hottest May; coldest Dec–Jan.
Rain rises SW → NE: Mulugu highest; Narayanpet, Jogulamba Gadwal lowest.
NE monsoon highest: Khammam.
Mandals: Venkatapuram (Mulugu) highest, Ghattu (Gadwal) lowest (TGDPS 2024).
Record rain: about 65 cm, Laxmidevipeta, Mulugu, 26–27 July 2023.
Records: 48.6 °C Bhadrachalam (1973); 3.5 °C Adilabad (2017).
2025-26 (Jun–Feb): 1,184.5 mm vs 863.3 mm normal, +37% (DES, SEO 2026).

Go deeper: Deeper, Mains writing (beyond what TGPSC MPSO / ASO usually asks)

Deeper Advanced

Climate type debate. Under Köppen, most of Telangana is Aw (tropical wet-and-dry, savanna). The dry south-west (old Mahabubnagar) is close to BSh (hot semi-arid). State books give different single labels; an answer should say "mainly tropical wet-and-dry, semi-arid in the south-west".
Which "normal"? Agencies use different station networks and periods. IMD (Hyderabad centre, district normals of 2021) gives 949.5 mm; DES, using mandal rain gauges and TGDPS automatic weather stations, gave a normal of 863.3 mm for June 2025–February 2026 (740.6 + 110.2 + 12.5 mm), which is lower partly because it leaves out the March–May season; books and the Statistical Abstract 2024 quote 919 mm. Always name the source and the period.
Variability. Rainfall varies more in the south (Mahabubnagar, Narayanpet, Jogulamba Gadwal, Nalgonda, Suryapet) than in the north. The north-east monsoon is far less reliable than the south-west monsoon. This is why the south-west of the state is drought-prone and depends on lift irrigation and tanks.
Extreme events.
- 26–27 July 2023: about 65 cm in 24 hours at Laxmidevipeta (Mulugu); about 62 cm was also reported at Chityal (Jayashankar Bhupalpally). Floods followed in the Godavari valley and around Warangal.
- Heatwaves in May kill people and livestock most years; lightning in pre-monsoon and monsoon storms is a major killer. Disaster management: TGG-DI-01.
Statement-level points.
- South-west monsoon ≈ 80%; north-east monsoon ≈ 13% of yearly rain.
- July is the wettest month, not September.
- Mulugu = highest rain; Narayanpet/Jogulamba Gadwal = lowest.
- Khammam gets the most north-east monsoon rain.
- The IMD record high is at Bhadrachalam (48.6 °C), though Ramagundam is famous as a hot spot.

Mains writing Mains writing

Frame: Telangana's farming and water security depend on one season. About four-fifths of the rain falls in four months and varies most in the south-west.
Points:
- Monsoon dependence: kharif sowing, tank filling and reservoir inflows hinge on June–September rain.
- Spatial gap: Mulugu gets more than twice the rain of Narayanpet; the south-west is drought-prone.
- Rising extremes: 65 cm in a day (July 2023), excess years (2025-26: +37%) alongside deficit years; more intense heatwaves and lightning.
- Urban heat: Hyderabad's heat island and flash floods.
Way forward: dense automatic weather stations and early warnings (TGDPS, IMD); heat action plans; drought-proofing through tanks, watershed works and crop choice; flood-plain and urban drainage planning.
Data points: IMD normal 949.5 mm; SW monsoon 751.9 mm (79%); Mulugu about 1,326 mm vs Narayanpet about 610 mm; record 48.6 °C (Bhadrachalam) and 3.5 °C (Adilabad).
Model opening line: "Telangana's climate is a story of one season: the south-west monsoon decides its harvests, its tanks and its drinking water."

Medha AI writes its own notes and checks them against the sources listed. Medha AI is an independent preparation service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to APPSC, TGPSC (formerly TSPSC), MPSC, UPSC or any other commission or government body.

8.1.3 Climate, seasons and rainfall of Telangana

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