We are almost in the fourth week of January and rainfall data till now suggests that other than Punjab, Haryana and west Rajasthan, winter rain has been in plenty in rest parts of North India. Here is a list of top 5 regions that witnessed excessive winter rain in January till now.
West Uttar Pradesh
From 1st of January till 22nd of January, the region has received 38.5 mm of rain against the average of 11.8 mm which is an increase of 226 per cent. The region has been under the influence of cyclonic circulations that emerged in Rajasthan and moved to north Madhya Pradesh and adjoining parts of Uttar Pradesh to bring rain.
East Uttar Pradesh
After moving eastwards from north Madhya Pradesh and adjoining parts of Uttar Pradesh the above mentioned cyclonic circulation then moved a little eastward bringing rain in east Uttar Pradesh including Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi. East Uttar Pradesh witnessed 45.3 mm of rain against the normal of 10.5 mm.
Bihar
Bihar received 17 mm of rain against the average of 9 mm for the period from 1st of January till 22nd of January. Meanwhile, Jharkhand also received 9.9 mm of rain, falling short by 4 per cent.
Madhya Pradesh
Both west and east Madhya Pradesh have recorded excessive rain till now in January. The cyclonic circulations that emerged in Rajasthan during the period had a tendency to remain over Madhya Pradesh. The western parts of the region recorded 13.9 mm of rain, a jump of 121 per cent than the normal 6.3 mm for the period. Similarly east Madhya Pradesh Pradesh also received 27.6 mm of rain against the average of 13.4 mm.
East Rajasthan
East Rajasthan received a staggering 493 per cent more winter rain than the average during the period. It recorded 24.4 mm of rain against the average of 4.1 mm.
A trough ( region of intensified moist winds ) extending from the Arabian Sea to North India had been instrumental in bringing rain in these regions especially in the second half of January which increased the amount of rain received.
Regions that have been left deficient by winter rain in January are Punjab which is 40 per cent short of its normal rainfall of 13.8 mm during the period. Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi have received 27 per cent less rain than the average. In the hills, Himachal Pradesh is deficient by 43 per cent during the period from 1st of January till 22nd January.
Photograph by Leonardo Weiss
