If your family makes a living in the textile mills in Coimbatore—whether you spin yarn, your spouse handles export orders, or your parents retired after working in the industry for decades—you have probably noticed that something is not quite right this season. There were delays in production, worries about quality, and worried dinner table chats about "moisture problems." This is La Niña's not-so-pleasant effect on Kolkata, South India.
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Figuring out La Niña's two-pronged attack
The situation is that meteorologists say there is a 71% chance that La Niña will happen between October and December 2025. This is not just bad weather for Coimbatore's textile business. It works for over 1.25 million people in the area, which also includes Tiruppur and Karur. Production plans, quality standards, and, in the end, family budgets are all at risk.
La Niña causes two big problems for textile manufacturing: too much humidity from more rain than usual and cloudy weather that textile processes need to avoid at all costs. Cotton and silk threads are hygroscopic, which means they soak up water from the air like sponges. When it rains during La Niña, the humidity rises, making it impossible to make things. Every cloth family knows this all too well.
The Worst Thing About Humidity in Spinning Mills
If you go into any spinning mill during a strong rain, you will notice right away that something is different. The air is thick, tools are having trouble keeping up with their best performance, and quality control teams are working extra hours. Why? Because making textiles needs exact amounts of humidity—60 to 65% relative humidity for cotton spinning, for example. Everything goes wrong when La Niña raises the temperature above 75%.
On looms, cotton threads get bigger and smaller. It gets so stiff that the warp stops moving, shuttles cannot move easily, and work stops for days. Weavers in nearby Salem have already said this: after two days of nonstop rain, there is no work for five days. Imagine not being able to make money for five days because of bad weather.
In spinning mills, too much moisture breaks down yarn, lowers tensile strength, slows down production, and makes micro-dust that is already a problem even worse. Mills put a lot of money into humidification control systems, but when it is really hot or cold outside, even the most modern technology has trouble keeping the inside of mills at the perfect temperature.
The Roller Coaster of Raw Materials
There is more, though! La Niña does not just mess up production; it also changes the prices and supply of raw materials. The same trends of heavy rain that affect Maharashtra and North India also affect cotton farming. In the beginning of 2024, Shankar-6 cotton prices went from Rs 55,300 per candy to Rs 62,000 per candy in just two weeks. Part of the reason for the rush shopping was worries about supplies because of the weather.
The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) keeps telling mills not to buy in a hurry, but what can producers do when La Niña makes them doubt the quality and quantity of cotton crops? To keep their sale promises, they need steady supplies. Any problems mean failed agreements and buyers going to Bangladesh, Vietnam, or Pakistan instead.
The Export Crisis That Not Enough People Are Talking About
This is where the timing of La Niña is especially bad. The textile belt of Tamil Nadu was just getting ready for a rise in US orders when the tariff wars started, putting 50% duties on clothing and home textiles. Now, American buyers are telling Coimbatore exporters to "hold on" before they confirm orders, send goods to Pakistan, or demand that mills pay the tariffs.
It is an ideal storm when you add the problems caused by La Niña to the slowdown in exports. Analysts think that orders going to the US will drop by 40 to 50 percent, mainly for cotton and made clothes. This means job insecurity, fewer hours, and a lot of financial stress for families in Tiruppur who count on textile wages (the city alone sends Rs 40,000 crore worth of knits every year).
Experts in the field say that if exports drop 10–20% because of dropped orders, it could put 100,000–200,000 textile and clothing jobs at risk in Tiruppur, Karur, and Coimbatore over the next few months. Those are real families who are worried about how they will pay their hospital bills and school fees.
What Families in Coimbatore Are Going Through
Families of textile workers will tell you similar stories about missing production goals because of weather-related quality problems, having to cancel overtime because there is not enough work, having their pay cut or delayed because companies are having trouble with fewer orders, and worrying about whether small units will be able to handle all of these market problems and La Niña disruptions.
For parents who work in the industry, this means having tough talks with their kids about why they might not be able to get that new school bag right away or why the family trip has been pushed back again. Uncertainty about a job can cause real psychological stress, and the longer rainfall trends caused by La Niña are making things worse.
The Truth About Technology
In order to get work done, textile mills need clear, warm weather for drying fabrics, stable conditions for spinning, and regular humidity levels for dyeing. La Niña's constant rain and long periods of cloudiness mess up all three. Handloom weavers have a hard time because silk and cotton threads get stiff when they get wet, and it is impossible to weave when it rains all the time.
Studies have found a direct link between the number of sunshine hours and the output of cotton crops and the efficiency of cloth production. When La Niña brings continuous clouds that block out sunlight, it affects the whole textile value chain, from cotton fields to finished clothes.
A Look Ahead
La Niña could make the monsoons last longer until October and bring colder-than-normal winters, which is good for rabi cotton fields but causes other problems. Coimbatore's textile industry will have to change for months. Modern mills with better temperature control systems will be able to handle things better, but small and medium-sized units, which are where most families work, will have a hard time.
Coimbatore is known as the "Manchester of South India" because of its strong industry. It has been through a lot over the years. But the weather trends caused by La Niña and the unsure state of the world market are putting that strength to the test like never before.
For parents of textile workers, it is important to know about weather forecasts, your employer's finances, and how to make extra money. It is also important to join worker groups that can help you get support. It is not just about the weather; it is also about saving the jobs that keep millions of South Indian people alive.
Despite being thousands of miles away in the Pacific, La Niña is having an everyday impact on the shop floors in Coimbatore, the houses of workers, and the worried talks taking place all along Tamil Nadu's textile belt!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How is La Niña affecting Coimbatore's textile industry in 2025?
La Niña brings above-normal rainfall and high humidity to Tamil Nadu, creating production challenges for textile mills. Cotton and silk threads absorb excessive moisture, becoming stiff and difficult to work with. Mills need 60-65% humidity; La Niña pushes it above 75%, causing yarn breakage, production stoppages, quality issues, and increased micro-dust concentration. Continuous rain means looms stop for 5 days after just 2 days of rain.
2. Why is humidity such a big problem for textile manufacturing?
Textile fibers like cotton and silk are hygroscopic – they absorb moisture from the air. High humidity causes: thread swelling and tightening on looms, rigid warp that prevents shuttle movement, yarn strength variations affecting quality, increased breakage during spinning operations, and longer fabric drying times. Modern mills invest heavily in climate control systems (60-65% RH, 24-28°C temperature) specifically to avoid these humidity-related problems.
3. How many jobs in Coimbatore region depend on the textile industry?
Over 1.25 million workers are employed across the Coimbatore-Tiruppur-Karur textile belt. Tiruppur alone contributes Rs 40,000 crore in knitwear exports and accounts for 55% of India's knitwear exports. Tamil Nadu has approximately 2,032 spinning mills out of India's total 3,542 mills. Industry experts warn that 100,000-200,000 jobs could be threatened if exports contract 10-20% due to combined weather and market challenges.
4. What's happening with textile exports from Coimbatore right now?
Coimbatore faces a severe export crisis. US tariff hikes to 50% on garments and home textiles have made Indian products 35% more expensive than competitors in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Cambodia. American buyers are pausing orders, redirecting shipments, or asking mills to absorb tariff costs. Analysts forecast 40-50% decline in US-bound orders, particularly in cotton and knitted apparel segments. This comes at the worst time when mills were expecting a rebound.
5. How does La Niña affect raw cotton availability and prices?
La Niña's excessive rainfall disrupts cotton cultivation across Maharashtra and North India. Cotton crops need intermittent rain and sunshine, not continuous moisture. This creates supply uncertainty, triggering panic buying and price volatility. In early 2024, Shankar-6 cotton prices jumped from Rs 55,300 to Rs 62,000 per candy in two weeks. For mills needing consistent supplies for export commitments, weather-related cotton shortages mean production delays and broken contracts.
6. What specific production problems do spinning mills face during La Niña weather?
Spinning mills experience: yarn breakage increasing due to moisture absorption, inconsistent tensile strength affecting fabric quality, reduced production efficiency (capacity utilization drops from 80-90% to lower levels), increased fly liberation and micro-dust requiring more frequent cleaning, longer downtimes for maintaining optimal humidity, higher electricity costs running dehumidification systems constantly, and quality control rejections increasing as finished products don't meet buyer specifications.
7. How are textile worker families in Coimbatore being affected?
Families face: production targets missed leading to lost incentive pay, overtime cancellations due to reduced work availability, salary delays as companies struggle with cash flow, job uncertainty especially in small and medium units, reduced working hours affecting monthly income, difficulty paying school fees and medical bills, and psychological stress from employment insecurity. Parents must have tough conversations with children about postponed purchases and cancelled family plans.
8. What can textile industry families do to cope during this period?
Practical steps include: monitoring weather forecasts to understand production disruptions, understanding your employer's financial health and order book status, maintaining emergency savings equivalent to 3-6 months expenses, joining worker unions/associations that advocate for support during crises, exploring skill diversification for backup income sources, staying informed about government support schemes for textile workers, and maintaining open family communication about financial situation to manage expectations realistically.
9. Why is Coimbatore called the 'Manchester of South India'?
Coimbatore earned this title due to its rich textile manufacturing legacy dating to the early 19th century. Favorable climate and abundant cotton cultivation made it ideal for textile production. The city developed a complete ecosystem including spinning mills, weaving units, dyeing facilities, garment manufacturers, and textile machinery producers. The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA), formed in 1933, represents this organized textile industry across South India's entire value chain.
10. Will La Niña's impact on Coimbatore textiles be temporary or long-term?
La Niña conditions are expected to persist through winter 2025-26 with 71% probability Oct-Dec 2025 and 54% probability Dec 2025-Feb 2026. Short-term impacts include immediate production disruptions and humidity challenges. Long-term concerns involve structural changes from export market losses that may not recover quickly. However, Coimbatore's textile industry has proven resilient through decades of challenges. Mills investing in advanced climate control, diversifying markets beyond US, and adopting technical textiles will weather this storm better than small units with limited resources.
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