Aug rain goes from deficit to excess to deficit

SCIENTISTS SAY THE LACK OF FORMATION OF INTENSE MONSOON SYSTEMS MAY BE TO BLAME FOR FEWER RAINY

DAYS IN DELHI

NEW DELHI: Deficit, surplus, and deficit again -- Delhi has seen monsoonal oscillations this August. India Meteorological Department (IMD) data for the past 29 days shows that from having a monthly rain deficit of 60%, the city received 11% surplus rain before returning to an 11% deficit as on Sunday.

So far, Delhi has seen just nine rainy days this month.

IMD data shows the first half of August was largely dry, receiving less than half the normal rain the city usually gets during this time of the year, including a partial break phase that lasted for 10 days.

The break ended with the city landing the wettest day of the season on August 21, receiving a record 138.8mm rainfall in a single day, the highest in 14 years. The wet spell, however, didn’t last and within three days made way for another dry spell from August 25-28.

IMD scientists said that the major reason behind the dry phases was the lack of formation of an intense monsoon system in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.

“This year, there was no support in terms of continued easterly winds and moisture from the Bay of Bengal, which trigger rain. Last year, we had five such systems forming, which resulted in good rains across the country. This season, we had just two such systems which were not intense enough... This led to the northwest region experiencing weak monsoon spells,” said R K Jenamani, senior IMD scientist.→p3