It took just two weeks of persistent rain in the city in August to wipe out two months of anxiety over a weak monsoon after both June and July turned out to be unusually dry.
The rainfall in August is already the highest for the month in over a decade, with more than 350 mm recorded so far. With more rain being forecast in the coming days, the city could witness the highest August rainfall ever. The all-time record for the month in 387.1 mm recorded in 1998.
According to the India Meteorology Department (IMD), the city has so far received 430 mm of monsoon rainfall. This has seen the city record 17% excess rainfall during monsoon. To put in perspective the record rainfall in August, one has to look at the showers in June and July.
While the ‘normal’ rainfall is 219.4 mm, the two months saw just 83 mm, pushing the monsoon deficiency to 62%. While the first two weeks of August saw minimal rain, it was after August 15 that the rain perceptibly increased. On August 15, the city witnessed 129 mm of rainfall. There has been heavy spells of rain over the past week. IMD predicts rain in the city over the next 48 hours at least. September is usually the wettest month for the city, with a ‘normal’ rainfall of over 212 mm.
