El Niño and the Kharif season — from drought-stressed to irrigated paddy fields
ICAR — Indian Council of Agricultural Research logo
ICAR Field Advisory · ENSO Watch

El Niño & Kharif Tracker

Developed by Dr Sadikul Islam, Dr Rajesh Kaushal & Dr Shakir Ali · ICAR–IISWC, Dehradun
Location not set

Tap Your District

Click any district on the map to load its full ENSO & Kharif analysis

PM-DDKY district Selected No district selected
Rendering district map…
Boundaries: Administrative Boundary Database (up to district level) · scheme overlay: PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana district shapefile. Simplified for display; click sets the field location for every panel below.

How to use this tool

  1. 1Set your location. Tap your district on the map above — or use ⌖ Locate / the district search at the top.
  2. 2Read the live panels. ENSO status, weather, rainfall shortfall, soil & sowing and water balance fill in automatically.
  3. 3Plan the crop. Check the Kharif calendar and the delayed-monsoon contingency crops for your zone.
  4. 4Use tools & official links. Rain-water harvesting calculator, plus IMD agromet and your district CRIDA plan.
  5. 5Share the advisory. Pick a language, then one-tap WhatsApp or SMS the ready field bulletin.

Pacific ENSO Status

El Niño Advisory in effect

● EL NIÑO — Strong
Niño 3.4 SST anomaly · observed+1.7 °C
Phase · observedWarm (El Niño)
Trend · observedStrengthening ↑
Peak outlook (SON–DJF) · forecastStrong → V. strong
Why it matters: A developing El Niño historically suppresses the Indian southwest monsoon. IMD's updated 2026 outlook places seasonal rainfall near 90% of the Long Period Average (below normal), with elevated odds of a deficient June–September. Field staff should treat this as a moisture-stress season and prioritise water-conserving practices below.
Sources: NOAA CPC/IRI ENSO advisory · IMD Long Range Forecast (Jun–Sep 2026). Anomaly & phase values are the latest published operational figures, refreshed at each advisory — CPC discussion · IMD monsoon

Live Field Weather

Set a location to begin

Monsoon Rainfall & Shortage — this location

Season-to-date deficit & the last 5 / 10 years

Soil & Sowing Conditions

Root-zone moisture, soil temp & sowing window

Kharif Hydro-Climatic Outlook

Water balance, irrigation need & crop-stress

Rainwater Harvesting & Runoff — soil & water conservation

Capture monsoon runoff for life-saving irrigation

Runoff by the SCS Curve-Number method on this location's daily rainfall; soil group is taken from the SoilGrids texture above when available, otherwise a default Group B is assumed (shown on the runoff card — override if you know your soil). Volumes are planning estimates — size structures with a local IISWC/soil-conservation engineer.

Delayed-Monsoon Contingency Plan

What to sow if the rains are late or short

Assessing onset & rainfall against the sowing window…
Source — ICAR-CRIDA District Agricultural Contingency Plans. Prepared by the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (ICAR-CRIDA), Hyderabad, with State Agricultural Universities under the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India. Available at icar-crida.res.in/Crop_Contingency_Plan.html. The tiers above are an indicative onset-and-deficit screen; the binding recommendation for your district is its CRIDA plan (auto-linked in Official channels once a district is selected).

Kharif Crop Calendar — India

Sowing → critical water need → harvest, with El Niño flags

Sowing / nursery Vegetative growth Flowering / grain-fill — most water-sensitive Maturity / harvest

El Niño season priorities

  • Favour short-duration & drought-tolerant varieties if onset is delayed (e.g. Sahbhagi dhan, DRR-44 paddy; K-12 bajra).
  • Shift marginal paddy area to pulses / millets / oilseeds that finish on residual moisture.
  • Protect the red flowering/grain-fill window — schedule any lifesaving irrigation here first.
  • Promote in-situ moisture conservation: ridge-furrow, mulching, conservation tillage.

Contingency & extension actions

  • Circulate district contingency plans (ICAR-CRIDA) tuned to a late/erratic monsoon.
  • Advise staggered / gap sowing to hedge dry spells; keep seed reserve for re-sowing.
  • Push micro-irrigation & farm-pond uptake before flowering stages arrive.
  • Track the deficit bars above weekly; trigger advisories once local deficit crosses −20%.

Farmer Advisory — ready to share

One-tap field bulletin for WhatsApp / SMS

Auto-filled from live data · English & Hindi are reviewed; other languages are auto-translated — verify before sending

Official Channels — IMD / ICAR advisories

Pair this analysis with the government's field advisories

IMD Agromet Advisory ↗ Twice-weekly district / state AAS bulletin (Tue & Fri) Meghdoot App ↗ IMD–IITM–ICAR farmer app · crop-wise advisory in local languages CRIDA Contingency Plan ↗ District agriculture contingency plan for late/deficit monsoon IMD Agriculture Services ↗ District forecasts, seasonal outlook & Gramin Krishi Mausam Seva
The two district links open a search pre-filled with your detected district so you land on the right bulletin quickly. Official bulletins are prepared by AMFUs/DAMUs — always the authoritative source for local recommendations.

Usage Analytics

Live snapshot from this device — local only

Sessions — last 14 days
By device location · IP-based, not the advisory area
Recent activity
This panel reflects only this browser/device. Central, country-wide analytics live in your Google Sheet once the logging endpoint is configured (see the setup notes).
ICAR logo
Dr Sadikul Islam · Dr Rajesh Kaushal · Dr Shakir Ali
ICAR–IISWC, Dehradun
Real-time weather & historical rainfall via Open-Meteo (open, no key); official district rainfall departures via the IMD district-rainfall API when reachable (a government feed that may be blocked cross-origin — it falls back to the national outlook automatically). Crop-calendar windows shift with the selected agro-climatic zone's monsoon onset (auto-set from your location, override anytime); they remain onset-adjusted indicative ranges — reconcile with ICAR-CRIDA district contingency plans and actual onset before advising. Built for ICAR field functionaries; not a substitute for official IMD/ICAR-CRIDA agromet bulletins.
Disclaimer

The El Niño and Kharif Tracker with Advisory is a research-based Decision Support System developed by ICAR-IISWC, Dehradun. Advisories are generated using predictive models and relevant guidance from the ICAR-CRIDA District Agriculture Contingency Plans.

Recommendations are indicative only and should be used along with official advisories, local field conditions, and expert judgment before implementation. Actual outcomes may vary.