Weather department data shows August saw a 35 % deficit in rainfall
RH Desk
September 1
India recorded the driest August since 1901, according to the country’s weather department.
“All India Rainfall during 1-31 August 2023 and during past 123 years for Aug ( 161.7 mm) lowest since 1901,” India Meteorological Department said on X, formerly Twitter.
It also said the country’s average “mean and maximum temperatures in August 2023 were the record highest since 1901, and the minimum temperature was the second highest.”
It also said the “large rainfall deficiency and weak monsoon condition is the main reason.”
August falls in the middle of India’s annual monsoon, a season that usually brings up to 80 percent of the country’s yearly rainfall, news gathering agency AFP reported.
Heavy downpours brought deadly floods to parts of India’s north during the month, but on the whole, rains were much more subdued, resulting in record heat, the report said.
Experts have blamed the El Nino — the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean — the main reason behind having less weather systems in the Bay of Bengal, which resulted in less rainfall in the country.
