North India witnesses wettest monsoon in 37 years

Reckless development may have worsened the weather-related devastation in north India this monsoon, but the relentless downpour itself was unprecedented in recent decades. Since June 1, the region has recorded over 740mm of rainfall — the highest in 37 years and the third highest since 1950, reported TOI.

In an unusual pattern for north India, this monsoon brought rain almost without pause. For the first time since 1978, all four monsoon months — June to September — recorded surplus rainfall. According to IMD data since 1950, this has happened only thrice before, including in 1978.

The region saw 42.2% excess rain in June, largely due to heavy pre-monsoon showers. The surplus stood at 13.2% in July, 34.4% in August, and a staggering 62.3% so far in September (till the 19th).


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.

The monsoon havoc in Himachal Pradesh continues unabated, with the death toll climbing to 427 between June 20 and September 20, according to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).

Of these, 243 people have died in rain-related disasters such as landslides, flash floods, drowning and lightning, while 184 fatalities were reported in road accidents during the same period.

Public infrastructure has been badly hit. As of September 20 morning, 394 roads, including two national highways (NH-03 and NH-503A), remain blocked, the SDMA said.

Alongside, 73 distribution transformers (DTRs) are disrupted, causing power outages across several districts, while 174 water supply schemes are non-functional, severely impacting rural and urban water supply.



(with TOI inputs)