India in August

monkeyboy32

Hello,

My wife is a teacher so the only time we can visit India will be August this year. I understand that this is monsoon time but is there any way we can avoid it?

Does the monsoon move from north to south for example.. so maybe we could travel the country avoiding the worst of the rain?

Many thanks.

jyotirmoy

Not only rains August will be hot & humid in the plains. The monsoon moves south to north but by August it spreads all over. This is the best time to visit Ladakh which remains dry.

monkeyboy32

We want to see as much of india as possible - is it really that bad there in August? How much would the rain effect our travelling?

Aishah

Thoroughly agree, Jyotiji. And if we weren't so busy then that's where I'd head for too! But August is also the time when a lot of English and European people travel Rajasthan because it's the only time they get their holidays. Mostly East Rajasthan if it has had the benefit of some rains, is actually not too bad - temps are up in the 30's in the day but it is still quite doable.
Last year, July and August were just hideous - far too hot and humid, but this isn't the case every year. If there has been some appreciable rain around the country by August, it can be reasonably pleasant in some areas. For relief from heat if you do find it awful, air conditioned rooms are a good idea in your hotels. I've been to Pushkar in August, staying in a hotel with a swimming pool where I spent the afternoons, but early evening and mornings were quite nice walking about. Just had a fan in room and it was o.k.

Noticed your question re rain - Rajasthan is the last state particularly towards the West to get rains. Raining everywhere else though.. Here, last year we had in total I should think around 6 hours rain, not at the same time, and it wasn't heavy. The year before we had unpredictable floods! 3 days of bucketting down cloudbursts. You can never tell.Generally Delhi,Rajasthan, maybe some parts of Haryana, UP, are not so heavily affected by monsoon.

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monkeyboy32

So really, if we wanted to see the north and the south, there's no real advantage of going 1 way or the other through august as the weather will be the same through that month?

So it doesn't matter whether we start in the north and head south or start in the south and head north?

jyotirmoy

I agree with Aishah sahiba, aircon room is highly recommended to return to after a hot and humid day. Mount Abu will also be a good place to visit in August.

Aishah

You need someone more expert with the South as to what it is like in monsoon time - I'm not sure. All I know is daily when I see the NDTV weather map there is rain all over the country except for us!

atala

Tamil Nadu is nice in August, since it is exempt from the summer monsoon. Some occasional night showers possible, or little rain during the day. At least that is what it was like years ago.

Nick-H

... and it remains true today, although with an element of unpredictability. We had more rain in Chennai this july/augist than usual, but it at least keeps things cooler.

Kerala might be nice. I've been there in August; some very heavy showers at the tail end of the monsoon, but not enough to spoil a holiday.

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machadinha

For a general overview of the weather, try this (whole) thread: India climate chart

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Indizen

Contrary to widespread fears, the monsoons can be a very pleasant experience indeed. It is in the Indian psyche to actually enjoy the rains, and many folk traditions and festivals like Teej dwell on this aspect.
It is not like in the UK that wet spells provoke depression.
Goa, Kashmir, southern hills ... there are so many options.
And the rainy season itself first hits Kerala and then goes up north, north east and finally north west right upto Jammu and Kashmir.

edwardseco

From my experiences heat is more a problem than rain at that time. However, it all depends on your standing with the rain gods..

Aishah

It's heat indeed, edwardesco, and combined with humidity is a horrible mix. The thing I HATE about July and August is walking in the market with your salwars sticking to your legs so your movement is hampered considerably! It is a ghastly feeling and I can't wait for that humidity to go.Even if we have no rain at all there is so much in the atmosphere that we get this humidity as well combined with burning sun - yuck!