August rainfall in northwest India highest since 2001: IMD

New Delhi: Northwest India recorded 265 mm of rainfall in August, the highest for the month since 2001 and the 13th highest since 1901, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The region has experienced above normal rainfall in all three months of the monsoon season so far.

Rainfall in June was 111 mm, 42 per cent above normal, while July saw 237.4 mm, 13 per cent above normal.

Rainfall in August stood at 265 mm against a normal of 197.1 mm, an excess of 34.5 per cent, the IMD said.

Cumulatively, northwest India received 614.2 mm of rain between June 1 and August 31, about 27 per cent higher than the normal of 484.9 mm.

The unusually high rainfall coincided with a series of extreme weather events.

Punjab suffered its worst flooding in decades, with swollen rivers and breached canals inundating thousands of hectares of farmland and displacing lakhs of people.

In the Himalayan states, cloudbursts and flash floods triggered landslides and caused widespread damage.

Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand reported washed-out bridges and roads, while Jammu and Kashmir witnessed repeated cloudbursts and landslides.

The IMD attributed the surplus rain to active monsoon conditions supported by frequent western disturbances that enhanced rainfall over the region.

South Peninsular India recorded 250.6 mm of rainfall in August, about 31 per cent above normal, making it the third highest for the month since 2001, and the eighth highest since 1901, the IMD said.

Cumulatively, the region received 607.7 mm of rain between June 1 and August 31 against a normal of 556.2 mm, a surplus of 9.3 per cent.

The entire country received 268.1 mm rainfall in August, about 5 per cent above normal, and 743.1 mm rainfall in the three months of June to August, around 6 per cent above normal.