GUWAHATI: With the southwest monsoon expected to be normal in the Northeast this year, weather experts are anticipating a monsoon season with fewer days of extreme heat. Officials said agriculture is likely to be the biggest beneficiary.According to IMD’s latest monsoon forecast, NE India is expected to receive normal to above normal rainfall in 2026. Met officials said that the monsoon is expected to arrive in the northeast by the first week of June."An increase in rainfall activity could potentially lead to fewer hot days," said Prof Rajib Lochan Deka of the agricultural meteorology department of Assam Agricultural University, on Saturday.He, however, said that previous analysis of monsoon rainfall data has shown that while the total quantity of rainfall in the region has been normal, there is significant temporal and spatial variability in its distribution. Consequently, Deka noted that the frequency of dry spells has increased, resulting in a corresponding rise in the number of warm spells. In Assam, although the overall quantity of rainfall during the monsoon in 2022 and 2024 was normal, the distribution showed a different picture at the district level. "In 2022, nine districts received deficient rainfall, while in 2024, this number increased to thirteen. Therefore, it is too early to tell that the number of hot days will reduce due to normal monsoon rainfall forecasts," Deka said.The Regional Meteorological Centre of IMD on Saturday issued a warning of very heavy rain in isolated places over Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram in the next four days. Heavy rainfall (7-11 cm) has been recorded at isolated places over Meghalaya in the last 24 hours."During June to September 2026, below-normal seasonal rainfall is most likely over most parts of the country, except some areas over Northwest and northeast India, eastern parts of south peninsula and adjoining areas of east-central India and isolated pockets of East India, where normal to above normal rainfall is likely," stated the Long Range Forecast for Southwest Monsoon Seasonal Rainfall 2026.