New Delhi: With warnings of a weaker than usual monsoon in 2026 now becoming reality, the Union government has now started discussing possible “contingency” plans for agriculture. India’s nationwide monsoon deficit was pegged at 35% on Tuesday, June 16, the day Union minister of agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a meeting with district magistrates and other officials, asking them to “prepare in advance” for lower monsoon rainfall in light of the El Niño effect.The discussions were held in the context of reviewing progress of Kharif sowing operations, Chouhan announced on X.आज नई दिल्ली स्थित कृषि भवन में वरिष्ठ अधिकारियों के साथ उच्चस्तरीय साप्ताहिक कृषि समीक्षा बैठक में खरीफ 2026 के लिए देशव्यापी तैयारियों की विस्तृत समीक्षा की।बैठक में अल नीनो की संभावित स्थिति पर चर्चा करते हुए अधिकारियों को निर्देश दिए कि जिन जिलों में कम बारिश या वर्षा में… pic.twitter.com/dlDeMwyuG3— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) June 16, 2026Chouhan said the discussion including a “possible El Niño situation” and directed officials to ensure complete preparations in districts with a likelihood of low rainfall or uneven distribution of rains. “Such districts should be identified, and crop-wise contingency plans should be prepared in collaboration with state governments, so that in the event of any weather-related challenge, farmers can be immediately provided with alternatives, advice and assistance,” he wrote on X. The Deccan Herald reported on Wednesday (June 17) that Chouhan announced weekly strategy meetings to monitor and mitigate El Niño effects at the national level and that the district-wise contingency plans would include reviews of fertiliser availability.He reportedly emphasised India had suitable stocks of fertiliser, whose prices and supply are under pressure in light of the West Asia crisis, and that there was adequate water in storage.The Hindu reports that, as per India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, all regions are in the red in terms of rainfall at the moment except northwest India. The deficit in east and northeast India is at 43%, central India at 63% and the southern peninsula at 14%.The south-west monsoon arrived in Kerala on June 4 instead of the usual June 1. Officials of the IMD had said at the time that the four-day delay was not significant, yet they had predicted lower than usual rainfall on the whole.Now the monsoon clouds are almost a week late arriving in Maharashtra, the Konkan coast and adjoining central Indian plains. This is understood to be on account of the El Niño effect, where warmer winds rising from the Pacific Ocean suppress the rain-bearing monsoon clouds which are a lifeline for many regions in India.In India, nine or ten states are expected to experience relatively higher El Niño impact this year, said the Deccan Herald report. The report cited Chouhan as telling the district magistrates, “Full preparations should be made in advance so that farmers can be provided immediate alternatives, advice, and support in case of weather challenges.”The Union government has placed 150 to 200 districts under priority monitoring, said the Hindu report. The El Niño effect will be monitored weekly with respect to these districts, it said.Chouhan reportedly stressed on cotton and pulse cultivation, the Statesman said. “Emphasis was placed on promoting measures such as scientific methods, selection of appropriate varieties, intercropping, mulching, and moisture conservation on a large scale, so that both cotton productivity and farmers’ income can increase,” the minister said in a post on X.The earliest warning in 2026 of deficient rainfall during the monsoon arrived in April from the IMD, whose forecast was in April warned of an 8% shortfall. The next forecast in late May took that up to 10% and was fairly confident (at 60% probability) there would be lower than usual rainfall. The Hindu reports that the late-May assessment was the IMD’s “most pessimistic pre-season call since 2015”.However, it noted that predictions of low rainfall have at times failed – 2015 ended up being a year with 14% excess overall rainfall. Past El Niño events have increased global temperatures and caused more extreme weather and rainfall.In terms of recent warnings from overseas met departments, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOOAA) issued an El Niño advisory on June 11, confirming the odds of it becoming “very strong” by winter at 63%. The World Meteorological Organisation had earlier predicted an El Niño emerging between June and August at 80%, the Hindu reports.Some of the nicknames given to this El Niño indicate how seriously its effects on weather patterns were being taken across the world since the past few months. The Guardian noted in a June 11 report following the NOOAA advisory, “Even before it officially formed, this El Niño has acquired nicknames ranging from ‘super’ to ‘Godzilla’.”