Flood-ravaged Punjab receives 74% excess rain in August, highest in 25 years

Flood-ravaged Punjab received 253.7 mm of rain in August, which was not only 74 % in excess of normal but also the highest the state witnessed in the past 25 years, officials said on Sunday.

Neighbouring Haryana received 194.5 mm of rain in August against an average of 147.7 mm for the month, marking a 32 % increase, they said.

According to the meteorological department here, at 253.7 mm, the August rainfall in Punjab was 74 % more than the month's normal of 146.2 mm.


"Punjab received deficient rainfall multiple times in the past couple of decades, but this year it recorded the highest rainfall figures for August in the last 25 years," the Met department said.

In August, 18 of Punjab's 23 districts received excess rain, while a few districts like Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib recorded deficient rainfall.

In Haryana, 18 of the 22 districts received excess rain in the month under review, while four, including Bhiwani and Ambala, recorded deficient rain.

According to Met data, Punjab and Haryana received excess rain in August only five times in the past 25 years, including the ongoing month.

Chandigarh, the common capital of Punjab and Haryana, received 308.5 mm rainfall in August as against the month's normal of 248.8 mm, marking an 8 % increase.

Punjab is under the grip of massive floods caused by the swollen Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and seasonal rivulets due to heavy rain in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

The worst-affected districts include Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar.

Amritsar received 226.8 mm of rain in August against a normal of 162.4 mm, which was 40 % more.

Fazilka recorded 146.8 mm of rain as against 68.1 mm, a rise of 115 %, while Ferozepur received 170.6 mm of rain against a normal of 74.5 mm, which was 129 % in excess.

In Gurdaspur, August rainfall stood at 577.5 mm, 181 % more than the month's normal of 205.3 mm. Hoshiarpur received 360.6 mm of rain in the month under review, 74 % in excess of the normal figures of 207.6 mm.

Pathankot was battered with 944.2 mm of rain in August, 152 % more than the season's normal of 375.2 mm, while Tarn Taran recorded 208 mm of rain against the month's normal of 87.1 %, which was 139 % in excess.

In Haryana, excess rain was reported from Fatehabad (252 %), Gurugram (24 %), Hisar (68 %), and Faridabad (31 %) districts.