Rainfall data of March/April 2026 of Sub-Himalayan W Bengal (SHWB) and Sikkim.

Despite the numerous Western Disturbances (WD) hitting the Western Himalayas during the winter of 2026, winter rains for us in the eastern end of the Himalayas were conspicuous by their absence. This was because WDs, which are responsible for our winter precipitation were tracking along higher latitudes or veering off towards the Tibetan plateau as they moved east (see satellite image above) as such never reached the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya.

Forest fires in South Sikkim on 17Feb2026 due to extreme dry weather

In Kalimpong, we received our first storm and rains around mid - March 2026 but the Darjeeling-Kalimpong districts remained largely deficient in rain in Mar2026. 
Sikkim, however received far more rain in March and it is tabulated below:

Rainfall data day-wise for APRIL 2026 of some places in the Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas is shown below:

 

 

Location of rain gauge stations and rough zones of rainfall are shown:

Zone 1:  Sikkim, especially North Sikkim, received the heaviest rainfall
Among all areas in the SHWB–Sikkim, the highest precipitation occurred in North Sikkim (Mangan, Lachen, Lachung, Chungthang belt).
Zone 2. Plains of Dooars and Alipurduar were also very wet. The foothill districts of Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, and the Dooars experienced substantial rainfall due to strong thunderstorm activity and moisture convergence.
Zone 3.  Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills were wet but comparatively less so Although rainfall was above normal, totals in Darjeeling and Kalimpong were generally lower than in North Sikkim and parts of the plains.
And in this region, Kurseong certainly always has the heaviest rainfall. The foothills of the Dooars ie Gorubathan and that belt also have intense thunderstorms and heavy rain.

Graphical Analysis of Rainfall and Windspeed of March and April 2026 of Kalimpong

Praful Rao
SaveTheHills
savethehills@gmail.com
9475033744