Nearly half of India received excess rainfall in August, says IMD; predicts normal rainfall for September

New Delhi: Nearly half of the country received excess rainfall in August, which recorded 15 percent more precipitation than normal, according to data shared by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

This is the second consecutive month the country recorded above normal rainfall.

June recorded deficient rainfall at 87 percent of the Long Period Average (LPA), while July saw above normal rainfall at 109 per cent of LPA. August recorded rainfall at 115 per cent of the LPA. The current LPA is 89 centimeters (cm), the average rainfall in the period between 1951 and 2000.

The overall rainfall departure in the country from June 1 to August 31 is zero per cent, K Sathi Devi, head of the National Weather Forecasting Centre said.

September, the last leg of the four-month rainy season, is expected to receive normal rainfall, D Pai, head of the IMD Pune said. He added that El Nino, the phenomenon associated with the heating of Pacific waters, and that is also believed to have an impact on the Indian monsoon, has turned neutral.

Pai said there is a positive India Ocean Dipole, a phenomenon associated with cooling of the Indian Ocean waters. This is believed to have a positive impact on the Indian monsoon.

Twenty-six percent of the country received “large excess” rainfall in August, while 22 percent received “excess” rainfall.  Twenty-three per cent of the country received normal rainfall, while 29 per cent recorded deficient rainfall.

The south India peninsula and central India divisions of the IMD saw 56 and 39 percent more rainfall than normal respectively.

The south peninsula division comprises all states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the union territories of Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar islands and the Lakshadweep.  The states of Karnataka and Kerala saw heavy rainfall in August.

The central India division consists of 10 subdivisions covering states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat also saw heavy rainfall and flooding in August.

The month recorded 38 percent rainfall deficiency in the east and northeast division and one percent deficiency in northwest India division.

East and northeast division comprises states of the northeast India, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, while northwest India consists of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.