March 21, 2026
The end of Spring: India Jumps Straight from Winter to Summer
Affecting crops like wheat — expect higher prices next year
What's happening?
- You couldn't have missed how quickly we moved from winter to summer this year. It felt like we completely by-passed spring. Mumbai was already at 40°C having seen several heatwaves in early March.
Why should you care?
- This could be an indication of El Nino coming: Scientists are predicting there’s an 80% chance of El Niño this year, which usually means higher than average temperatures and a weaker monsoon. Dry winter + weak monsoon = water shortages.
- Food prices may go up: Wheat needs cool weather before harvest. This year’s heat hit Punjab and Haryana’s crop at exactly that stage, and farmers are predicting a weaker harvest.
- This is not an isolated instance. Unusually short springs is a pattern that we have seen for a few years now.