Rainy Season in India: Month by Month
Quick answer: India’s monsoon arrives in June and leaves in September on the west coast and in the north: Mumbai’s wet months are Jun–Sep, and its July alone brings 972 mm (38.3 in), against 1 mm (under 0.1 in) in January. Kerala, in the far south, gets the rain first and keeps it longest: Kochi’s wet months are May–Oct.
Pick a destination to see its weather month by month and the best time to go, or pick a month to see where the weather is at its best.
Tokyo · a city trip
Good: Mar–May, Oct–DecNo month is ideal for a city trip by our rule, but these come close.
- Warmest
- Aug · 89°F
- Coolest
- Jan · 49°F
- Wettest
- Jul · 16 rain days
- Averages for 2006–2025: any single year can be hotter, colder or wetter.
Weather from NASA POWER daily data, 2006–2025, for the ~50 km area around each place. Right on the coast, afternoons can be a few degrees warmer than shown.
| Month | High / low (°F) | Rain days | Rain (in) | Storms within 100 mi | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 49° / 34° | 5 | 2.4 | Off (too cold) | |
| Feb | 51° / 35° | 7 | 3.1 | Off (too cold) | |
| Mar | 57° / 40° | 12 | 5.1 | Good (cool, showery) | |
| Apr | 65° / 48° | 12 | 6 | Good (showery) | |
| May | 73° / 58° | 13 | 6.6 | Good (showery) | |
| Jun | 79° / 65° | 16 | 8.1 | Off (too wet) | |
| Jul | 86° / 73° | 16 | 6.5 | Off (too wet) | |
| Aug | 89° / 75° | 15 | 5.4 | Off (too hot) | |
| Sep | 82° / 70° | 16 | 8.7 | Off (too wet) | |
| Oct | 72° / 59° | 14 | 8.9 | Good (showery) | |
| Nov | 63° / 48° | 11 | 4.4 | Good (showery) | |
| Dec | 54° / 39° | 7 | 3.2 | Good (cool) |
The tool above opens on Mumbai: change the place or the month to yours, or compare Goa (Calangute), New Delhi and Kochi (Kerala). Below, India month by month — rain, rain days and how warm it is.
India month by month
Average rainfall and the number of days with at least 1 mm of rain, 2006–2025. On this page a month counts as wet when it gets more rain than an average month in that place (more than a twelfth of its year), and dry when it gets less than half an average month. The months in between are the shoulder.
| Month | Mumbai | Goa (Calangute) | New Delhi | Kochi (Kerala) | Mumbai: rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 days — dry | 1 days — dry | 3 days — dry | 3 days — dry | 1 mm (under 0.1 in) |
| February | 1 days — dry | 0 days — dry | 3 days — dry | 3 days — dry | 2 mm (0.1 in) |
| March | 1 days — dry | 2 days — dry | 4 days — dry | 11 days — dry | 6 mm (0.2 in) |
| April | 1 days — dry | 5 days — dry | 3 days — dry | 18 days — shoulder | 3 mm (0.1 in) |
| May | 4 days — dry | 11 days — shoulder | 6 days — shoulder | 24 days — wet | 54 mm (2.1 in) |
| June | 24 days — wet | 28 days — wet | 11 days — wet | 28 days — wet | 515 mm (20.3 in) |
| July | 30 days — wet | 31 days — wet | 22 days — wet | 29 days — wet | 972 mm (38.3 in) |
| August | 29 days — wet | 29 days — wet | 21 days — wet | 28 days — wet | 595 mm (23.4 in) |
| September | 25 days — wet | 25 days — wet | 13 days — wet | 24 days — wet | 435 mm (17.1 in) |
| October | 12 days — shoulder | 16 days — shoulder | 2 days — dry | 26 days — wet | 121 mm (4.8 in) |
| November | 4 days — dry | 6 days — dry | 1 days — dry | 20 days — shoulder | 21 mm (0.8 in) |
| December | 1 days — dry | 1 days — dry | 1 days — dry | 8 days — dry | 9 mm (0.4 in) |
Mumbai is wet in Jun–Sep, shoulder in Oct and dry in Nov–May. Goa (Calangute) is wet in Jun–Sep, shoulder in May, Oct and dry in Nov–Apr. New Delhi is wet in Jun–Sep, shoulder in May and dry in Oct–Apr. Kochi (Kerala) is wet in May–Oct, shoulder in Apr, Nov and dry in Dec–Mar.
The amounts are what set India apart. Mumbai’s July is more than New Delhi gets in a whole year (804 mm (31.7 in)), and Goa’s July brings 783 mm (30.8 in). Delhi’s rain comes mostly in July and August — 228 mm (9.0 in) and 208 mm (8.2 in) — and a dry month there is not always a pleasant one: of Oct–Apr, When to Go rates only Dec–Jan best, because April and May run far hotter than its city rule. Kochi’s rain has a second peak: October, 320 mm (12.6 in), is wetter than September.
The wettest and driest months
Mumbai: wettest in July (972 mm (38.3 in), 30 rain days), driest in January (1 mm (under 0.1 in), under a rain day). Goa (Calangute): wettest in July (783 mm (30.8 in), 31 rain days), driest in February (2 mm (0.1 in), under a rain day). New Delhi: wettest in July (228 mm (9.0 in), 22 rain days), driest in November (4 mm (0.2 in), 1 rain day). Kochi (Kerala): wettest in July (468 mm (18.4 in), 29 rain days), driest in January (17 mm (0.7 in), 3 rain days). Over the year, Mumbai gets 2734 mm (107.6 in).
The best months to go
Mumbai: Nov–Jan · Goa (Calangute): Nov–Jan · New Delhi: Dec–Jan · Kochi (Kerala): Dec–Jan. When to Go rates every month on temperature, rain days and storms — open Mumbai in the tool above and step through the year.
Plan it
- What visitors can do in India
- Things to do in Goa
- Things to do in Jaipur
- Things to do in Agra
- Mumbai’s weather, month by month
- Where to travel this month
FAQ
When is the rainy season in India?
Jun–Sep — the months that get more rain than an average month in Mumbai. July is the wettest, at 972 mm (38.3 in) across 30 rain days, against 1 mm (under 0.1 in) in January (NASA POWER, 2006–2025).
Does it rain all day in the rainy season in India?
The measure here is a day with at least 1 mm of rain, not a day of rain. In July, Mumbai averages 30 rain days out of 31, with an average high of 83°F / 29°C.
What is the driest month in India?
January, at 1 mm (under 0.1 in) across under a rain day. The dry months, by the rule this page uses, are Nov–May.
When is the best time to visit India?
When to Go rates Nov–Jan the best months for Mumbai, on temperature, rain days and — where it applies — storms. The other places on this page have their own; open the tool above on each.
When is the best time to visit India to avoid the monsoon?
The dry months: Nov–May in Mumbai, Nov–Apr in Goa and Oct–Apr in Delhi. When to Go rates Nov–Jan best for Mumbai and Dec–Jan for Delhi.
Does it rain all day in the Indian monsoon?
Not usually all day, but on most days: Mumbai averages 30 rain days in July. Delhi, further from the sea, averages 22 rain days in July.
How these numbers are made
Daily rainfall and temperature from NASA POWER (MERRA-2), averaged over 2006–2025; a rain day is a day with at least 1 mm. POWER works on a grid of about 50 km, so each place here is its neighbourhood rather than its own rain gauge: a coast, a small island or a valley under a mountain can differ from the square it sits in. The months are the part that holds; treat a single millimetre figure as an average, not a forecast.