India has skipped the spring season yet again as unusually early summers take hold, with heatwaves arriving as early as the first half of February. Adding to the distress is a record rainfall deficiency. February 2026 saw an 81% deficiency, recording just 4.2 mm of rain

India has skipped the spring season yet again as unusually early summers take hold, with heatwaves arriving as early as the first half of February. Despite the presence of La Nina—a climate pattern typically associated with cooler global temperatures—relentless greenhouse gas emissions have pushed temperatures well above seasonal norms, according to a Climate Trends report.

The impacts are already being felt across the subcontinent. On March 10, Mumbai recorded a staggering 40 degrees Celsius, a “severe heatwave” condition 7.6 degrees Celsius above the average. In Delhi-NCR, maximum temperatures have hovered around 35 degrees Celsius—five to seven degrees above normal—while isolated pockets in Himachal Pradesh and Vidarbha are recording departures of up to 8 degrees Celsius above normal. This follows a 2025 that, despite being a La Nina year, ranked as the eighth warmest since 1901.