Rain-battered North logs its wettest monsoon in 37 years

NEW DELHI: Reckless development activities may well have exacerbated weather-related devastation in north India this monsoon, but the sheer amount of rain the region received almost without a break was unprecedented in recent decades. Total rainfall across north India since June 1 crossed 740mm on Friday, making it the wettest monsoon in the region in 37 years, and the third wettest since 1950.

Uncharacteristically for north India, it rained without a major break through the season. It's for the first time since 1978 that all four monsoon months - June to Sept - saw surplus rainfall in the region. Only on three other years, including 1978, have these four months receive above-normal rainfall in north India, as per IMD records since 1950.

While the region recorded 42.2% more-than-normal rain in June, mainly on account of bountiful pre-monsoon showers, the surplus was 13.2% in July, 34.4% in Aug and 62.3% so far this month (till Sept 19).

Overall, 741.4mm of rain has been recorded across north India since June 1 against a normal of 563.6mm, which translates to a surplus of 31.5%. This is the highest monsoon rainfall in the region since 1988, when 813.5mm was logged.