Goa records fifth highest Oct rainfall in a century

Panaji: The state recorded its fifth highest Oct rainfall in a century, receiving a total of 374.6mm of rain during the month, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

This makes Oct 2025 rank among the top 10 rainiest Octobers in nearly a century of rainfall records for the state.The all-time highest Oct rainfall in Goa was in 2019, when 546.8mm fell, followed by 2006 (423.8mm), 1955 (413.2mm), and 1985 (394.3mm). This year’s figure places 2025 fifth, underscoring the unusual intensity of the late monsoon surge.Meteorologist and retired chief scientist of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), M R Ramesh Kumar, said that the last week of Oct 2025, starting from the 24th, contributed to about 60% of the monthly total till the morning of Oct 31.“This was primarily due to the influence of the depression system, which brought widespread rain across the state,” he said, attributing the heavy rainfall largely to the depression over the southeastern Arabian Sea, which persisted during the last week of Oct.Rainfall distribution, however, was far from uniform. According to data from various IMD rain gauge stations, Pernem and Mormugao recorded the highest rainfall totals, each receiving 498mm during Oct.

In contrast, Valpoi received the lowest rainfall at 209mm till Friday morning.Kumar described the pattern as “lopsided”, noting that most of the precipitation was concentrated in the second fortnight of Oct. “There was no rainfall on Oct 12 and 13, and only trace amounts (0.2mm) were recorded on Oct 8, 14, and 18,” he added.The other years in the list of top 10 heavy rainfall Octobers were 2009 (351.8mm), 1931 (344mm), 1928 (332mm), 2010 (325.5mm), and 2024 (300mm).