Monsoon ends with 'normal' rainfall as positive factors counter El Nino effect, says IMD
monsoon season has ended with India receiving «normal» cumulative rainfall — 820 mm against a long-period average of 868.6 mm — with positive factors countering the effect of El Nino conditions, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. Rainfall between 94 per cent and 106 per cent of the long-period average (LPA) is considered normal.
However, normal cumulative rainfall over the country during the monsoon season doesn't mean even spatial and temporal spread of precipitation.
The Indian monsoon refers to inherent fluctuations and changes that occur over time due to various natural factors. This is called natural variability.
Research, however, shows climate change is making the monsoon more variable.
Increased variability means more extreme weather and dry spells.
Addressing a press conference, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that with positive factors countering El Nino, the 2023 monsoon season concluded with 94.4 per cent cumulative rainfall which is considered «normal».
Monthly rainfall across the country as a whole stood at 91 per cent of LPA in June, 113 per cent in July, 64 per cent in August, and 113 per cent in September.
«Out of the 36 meteorological subdivisions, three (constituting 9 per cent of the total area) received excess rainfall, 26 received normal rainfall (covering 73 per cent of the total area), and seven received deficient rainfall. The seven subdivisions with deficient rainfall are Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, East UP, South Interior Karnataka, and Kerala,» the IMD chief said.
The IMD reported that East and Northeast India recorded 1,115 mm of rainfall against a normal of 1,367.3 mm, which translates to an
