The Indian Meteorological Department bid farewell to southwest monsoon 2019, one of the wettest in the known memory. Though the southwest monsoon will begin withdrawing on October 10 from the country, over a month after the normal date of withdrawal of September 1, the IMD will use only the rainfall till September 30 to compile its figures.
Despite the late onset and a worryingly dry start in June, southwest monsoon 2019 far exceeded the Long Period Average (LPA) of 88. At 110 per cent of the LPA, the monsoon surpassed the IMD's prediction of normal rainfall—96-104 per cent of LPA.
After 1994, rainfall received in 2019 was the highest season rainfall received by the country as a whole, the IMD said. Also, after 1931, this is the first time that the seasonal rainfall is more than the LPA, despite a huge June shortfall (30 per cent this time).
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Nationwide, July, August and September had record rains. August got its second highest recorded rain (115 of LPA this year) after 1996 (119 of LPA). September is also a record month, seeing the highest rain (152 of LPA) after 1917 (165 of LPA). Since 2010, it is the first time that rain was in excess of LPA in the three months of July-August-September. The second highest cumulative rainfall for August-September (130 per cent of LPA) was also recorded this year. The record is still for 1983 (142 per cent of LPA).
However, of the 36 sub divisions, five received deficient rainfall, of which Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh (accounting for 15 per cent of the country's area) were left bereft of monsoon bounty with a 42 per cent deficiency. On an average, 20 per cent of the country receives deficient rains every year. Another concern was that in the last 19 years, (2001-2019) apart from 2007, the northeast region of the country has consistently received less rainfall than the LPA. “This indicates that the seasonal rainfall over northeast India is passing through a below normal epoch, like it was during early 1950s to mid 1980s,'' said the IMD.
There were concerns of a weak monsoon this year, with several global models predicting the influence of a strong El Nino episode. The IMD, too, in April, predicted normal monsoon, and had also suggested that the El Nino would weaken while a positive Indian Dipole (IOD) event would emerge in the Indian Ocean. IMD had also predicted that the second half of the monsoon would perform better. However, it was unable to predict both, the excess rains, as well as the extended monsoon, which is going into October. In fact, it seems that this year will make a record in the most delayed withdrawal of the monsoon in recorded history. So far, the most delayed dates are October 1, 1961, followed by September 30, 2007.
How much of this water, however, has been saved is another issue. While this year, there were efforts at recharging the water table, with the arid summer having been a big warning, its results will only be seen in the dry months.
