India records 6th consecutive year of 'normal rainfall'
India has just wrapped up its sixth straight year of "normal rainfall," and guess what? This year's monsoon brought the second-highest rainfall since 2019! According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), we got a whopping 934.8mm of rain this season, which is about 8% more than the average. Normally, we'd see around 880mm during this crucial monsoon period.
Northeastern India experiences declining monsoon rainfall
However, not all regions experienced this surplus. Data from the IMD revealed that Manipur did not receive its normal seasonal rainfall of 1,038mm during the past six monsoons. Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Assam also faced rainfall deficits on two or three occasions within this period. An IMD official noted a clear trend of declining monsoon rainfall over parts of northeastern India.
5 states/UTs record rainfall deficits this year
This year, just five states and Union Territories (UT) are facing rainfall deficits. Nagaland tops the list with a 32% deficit, followed by Manipur at 31%, Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh each with 28% less rainfall than normal, and Jammu and Kashmir with a 26% shortfall. The monsoon kicked off two days early in Kerala, but it moved quickly across peninsular India.
Central and peninsular India receive abundant rainfall
Despite a stalled monsoon and deficit in June rainfall, the monsoon covered the entire country by July 2. Central and peninsular India experienced longer durations of active monsoon than usual, resulting in abundant rainfall. The IMD reported that some areas from these regions will continue to receive rainfall well into October due to active weather systems.
Low-pressure systems contribute to above-normal rainfall
The monsoon season witnessed 69 low-pressure days against a normal of 55. Fourteen low-pressure systems developed, six of which intensified into depressions. "Most of these developed in the Bay of Bengal and moved across central India region bringing good rainfall over Odisha, Jharkhand, Vidarbha and parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat," said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general at IMD.
Heavy rainfall events lead to floods and landslides
This year, states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Uttarakhand faced some crazy rainfall events (over 300mm in just 24 hours). These downpours caused huge floods and landslides, taking lives and destroying livelihoods. In fact, the rainfall surplus in some of these states was between 18-48%.
