Southwest monsoon season rainfall is accounted for between 01stJune and 30thSeptember. Curtains will be drawn in another 48hr on season-2022. Rainfall if any, on 30thSeptember after 8.30 am will get listed against 01stOctber. Left with rainfall of 2 more days, the monsoon continues to show a 7% surplus. It remains stagnant with this figure for the last 2 weeks, since 15thSep. It is expected to end on a pleasing note of ‘above normal’ season, retaining excess of 7% rainfall of long period average( LPA- 868.6mm).
Inclusive of season 2022, it will be the 5th above normal monsoon since 1995 and the 3rd best during this period. Monsoon season is termed as ‘above normal’ when the seasonal rainfall is between 105% to 110 % of LPA. Season 2022 commenced on a soft note and observed a marginal deficiency of 8% rainfall in June. Core monsoon months of July and August performed quite well but July steal the show when the rainiest month registered an excess of 17% rainfall. Such deluge was last observed way back in 2005. The following month of August was moderated and recorded 103% rainfall of LPA. The concluding month September remains promising to end with a decent overage of 10% rainfall.
Monsoon Rainfall (% LPA) : 1995-2022
Despite good monsoon, states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal precariously remained rain deficit by 30-40%. As the monsoon systems in the Bay of Bengal mostly tracked dead westward across central parts of the country, the eastern states along with Uttar Pradesh failed to rev up and continued with large deficit till mid September. Courtesy good rains between 14th and 25th September over central, northern and eastern parts, the deficit has been moderated, specially in Uttar Pradesh which otherwise was the most starved state. Southern peninsula has been the chief beneficiary with an excess of over 20% rainfall, a repeat of 2020. Central India will finish close 2nd with surplus just falling short of notional figure of 20%. Northwest India managed to pull the trigger to break even in the last leg of monsoon. Northeast India, the heterogenous pocket, got to live with perennial deficit, season after season and keep bracing the passivity.
