Flood-hit Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand Face Rain Fury Again, as India's Monsoon Deficit Drops to 4%

Flood-ravaged Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are facing monsoon fury yet again, with record-breaking rainfall in both the Himalayan states. The fresh spell of rain has further brought down the country-wide monsoon deficit to four per cent (-4%) with surplus rains in five states so far.

Rishikesh in Uttarakhand recorded exceptionally heavy rainfall crossing nearly 420 mm on Sunday, followed by 250 mm in Dehradun (Sahastradhara), and 190 mm in Mussoorie. Still recovering from the devastation caused by floods in July, Himachal Pradesh is gearing up to contain further damage from flash floods and landslides triggered due to widespread rain over the past two days.

Rain breaking records

The vigorous monsoon has brought 273 mm of rain for Kangra—its highest-ever 24-hour rainfall for August, followed by 250 mm in Dharamshala and 220 mm in Palampur. Popular hill station Shimla recorded 131.6 mm of rain—the second highest in the month of August.

With the monsoon trough north of its normal position for another 3-4 days, the weather department has further warned of widespread heavy rain to continue in isolated areas of the two states till Tuesday, after which it is expected to decrease. However, Uttarakhand may continue to witness significant rain till August 18, increasing the risk of heavy inflows in rivers.

There could be some rain activity in extreme north Punjab-Haryana-Chandigarh and northwest Uttar Pradesh on Monday. But is not expected to last long, as the monsoon remains weak over the region and hot and humid conditions will prevail.

7 states still grappling with deficient rains

The ongoing spell has also brought down the overall rainfall deficit to four per cent. While the monsoon has so far been normal in 22 out of the 36 subdivisions, it is excess in five—Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, and Telangana. In fact, northwest India has so far recorded 13% excess rain this season so far, with prevailing El Nino conditions not making their impact felt in the region yet.

Despite the torrential rain in Himalayan states, there are still as many as nine subdivisions where the monsoon still remains deficient. This includes the crucial rice-growing regions of west Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Gangetic West Bengal, as well as Jharkhand, Manipur, Kerala, south Karnataka, and Rayalaseema. The deficit has widened to nearly 37% in Jharkhand which faced nearly drought-like conditions last year.

Though starting Monday, there could be a gradual increase in rainfall activity over east and adjoining central India—covering east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, and Jharkhand starting Monday. But, the rainfall over the rest of the country is likely to be subdued as the monsoon is likely to enter a break phase soon.