Nagaland, Meghalaya witness considerable decrease in Monsoon rainfall during June: Centre

The monsoon rainfall has been normal for the country as a whole in June 2022. Union Minister of State(Ind. Charge)Science&Tech;(Ind), Dr. Jitendra Singh informed on Wednesday that Northeastern states Meghalaya and Nagaland along with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal have witnessed a considerable decrease in southwest monsoon rainfall during the last 30 years (1989-2018).

“The monsoon rainfall has been normal [92% of the Long Period Average (LPA)] during June 2022, for the country as a whole. The LPA of the rainfall for the month of June was 165.4 mm based on the data for 1971-2020. The rainfall in June is said to be normal if it is within 92% to 108% of LPA,” said Government.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh addressed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday about the early beginning of the southwest monsoon, saying it was an inherent property observed in the inter-annual variability of monsoon behavior.

“This year the monsoon onset over Kerala was on May 29, 2022, against the normal date of June 1 (3 days ahead of normal date) and it covered the entire country on July 2, 2022, against the normal date of July 8 i.e. six days ahead of the normal date for monsoon coverage for the entire country,” read an official statement.

According to Ministry of Earth Science figures, there was abundant rainfall in east and northeast India and inadequate rainfall in central India.

“Monsoon remained active in July due to formation and movement of low-pressure systems across Central India and the monsoon trough lying to the south of its normal position,” added the statement.

Quoting a report released by IMD, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh informed that five states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Nagaland have shown significant decreasing trends in southwest monsoon rainfall during recent 30 years period (1989-2018).

The annual rainfall over these five states along with the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh also show significant decreasing trends. Other states do not show any significant changes in southwest monsoon rainfall during the same period.