Monsoon rains 9% above normal; Northeast, south India reel under shortfall

India received nine per cent more rainfall than normal so far this monsoon season, but the rain has not been evenly spread across the country.

While some states like Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Ladakh received much more rain than usual, several others, especially in the northeast and southern parts, are facing a huge shortage, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Between June 1 and July 16, the country received 331.9 mm of rain, which is about 9 per cent more than the normal rainfall of 304.2 mm for this period.

But this average hides the large-scale spatial variation.

Jharkhand received 71 per cent more rain than normal, with 595.8 mm rainfall compared to its usual 348.9 mm. Rajasthan also saw a huge increase — 271.9 mm rainfall against a normal of 125.6 mm, which is 116 per cent more than usual.

Ladakh, which usually gets very little rain, received 15.8 mm compared to a normal of 8 mm which is 97 per cent above normal. These three have been classified as receiving “large excess” rainfall.

Five other states and Union Territories recorded “excess” rainfall, meaning 20 to 59 per cent more than normal. These are Haryana, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Madhya Pradesh received 470.6 mm rain against a normal of 281.3 mm which is 67 per cent more than usual. Gujarat got 388 mm of rainfall, which is 64 per cent more than normal.

Many states and Union Territories have seen normal rainfall, which means rainfall was within 19 per cent above or below the normal range.

These include Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Goa, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Sikkim and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

States which faced or are facing flood conditions this monsoon include Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Karnataka (specifically parts of Shivamogga), West Bengal, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

Himachal Pradesh is the most severely affected state, both in terms of human casualties and economic damage, with Mandi in particular experiencing devastation on an unprecedented scale this season. Floods and heavy rain have claimed 105 lives in the state so far.

In May, the IMD had forecast that India is likely to receive 106 per cent of the long-period average rainfall of 87 cm during the June-September monsoon season. Rainfall between 96 and 104 per cent of this 50-year average is considered ‘normal’.

Above-normal rainfall is expected in most parts of the country, except Ladakh, adjoining areas of Himachal Pradesh, the northeast and some parts of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

Some isolated areas in Punjab, Haryana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu may record below-normal rainfall.

Monsoon is crucial for India’s agriculture sector, which supports the livelihood of around 42 per cent of the population and contributes 18.2 per cent to the GDP.

It also plays a key role in replenishing reservoirs essential for drinking water and power generation.

India