Monsoon ends with 7.6% surplus rainfall

The 2024 monsoon season has ended with 7.6 per cent more rainfall than normal, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday. Rajasthan, Gujarat, west Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh got excess rainfall, according to the IMD data.

The 2024 southwest monsoon season officially ended on Monday, with India recording 934.8 mm of rainfall — 107.6 per cent of the long-period average and the highest since 2020. Central India received 19 per cent more rainfall than the long-period average for the region, the southern peninsula recorded 14 per cent more than normal, and northwest India saw 7 per cent more than usual.

In contrast, east and northeast India registered 14 per cent less rainfall than normal, according to the data. The country experienced an 11 per cent rainfall deficit in June, followed by an excess of 9 per cent in July, 15.3 per cent in August, and 11.6 per cent in September. Only three meteorological subdivisions recorded deficient rainfall this monsoon season.

India’s geographical area is divided into 36 meteorological subdivisions. Twenty-one subdivisions recorded normal rainfall, 10 experienced excess rainfall, and two saw large excess rainfall.

The monsoon is critical for India’s agricultural sector, with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area dependent on it.

This primary rain-bearing system is also essential for replenishing reservoirs that provide drinking water and support power generation across the country. Meanwhile, as many as 1,492 people died in the country during extreme weather events in the 2024 monsoon season, according to data compiled by the IMD.

Meanwhile, amid grim flood situation in Bihar impacting 11.84 lakh people, Union Minister Chirag Paswan, who hails from the state, visited the affected areas and said that he would share details of the “frightening” conditions with PM Modi. 16 teams of NDRF have been deployed.