Amount of rain not the only reason for a cooler April this year

Anecdotally, we know that April was cool because of unusually rainy weather. However, the relation between rain and temperatures is not that straightforward. India received 41.2mm rain in April, which is the 28th highest rainfall for this month since 1951. Of the 27 years when it rained more, April was cooler only in three (1983, 1997 and 2020). An example can clarify that the amount of rain does not have a straight relation with maximum temperature. April 2022 was at the other end of the spectrum compared to April 2023 as far as maximum temperature is concerned (13th warmest April month since 1951), but received 46.9mm rain, more than the rain last month. What explains this contradiction? The intensity of rain is one explanation. 40% of the April rain was of heavy and extreme intensity last year compared to just 12% this year. This means that almost half of the rain fell too quickly and in too concentrated a region in 2022, allowing the rest of the places and days to be warm, driving the average maximum temperature higher. This disparity was such that, on average, it rained only on 4.66 days in April in 2022 (27th lowest days of rain for April since 1951). In comparison, it has rained on average on 7.25 days this April in different parts of India. This is the fourth highest “days of rain” number for April since 1951. Rain was even more frequent in some parts of India this year. Of the 4,685 grids for which IMD gives rainfall data, the days of rain were the highest since 1951 for 637 grids; among the top five for 1,618 grids; and among the top 10 for 2,240 grids.