The desert state of Rajasthan may want to permanently ban the cliché, ‘like the deserts miss the rain,’ as heavy downpour for the third consecutive day led to flood-like situations in Sirohi, Jalore and Pali districts.
The State’s lone hill station, Mount Abu in Sirohi district, received an unprecedented 770 mm of rain in 24 hours. Statistics show that until 2010, the 100-year record for a single-day of rain in Mt Abu was 653 mm in 1992. The only comparable deluge after was a 453 mm downpour in 2015. According to A.K. Srivastava of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune, this was “possibly” the maximum rain ever received in the region.
In comparison, the torrential rain that brought Mumbai to a standstill in 2005 was 944 mm and 644 mm on July 26 and 27, whereas Chennai was brought to its knees in 2015 with a cumulative November tally of 1,049 mm.
A rise in extreme rainfall events, according to experts, is the consequence of a spike in temperatures across India in recent decades, and its effect on the monsoon. “Mt. Abu being hilly may not see a situation like Mumbai. But it is now well established that these rain records are a fall-out of global warming,” Mr. Srivastava said. Mount Abu is at an elevation of 4,000 ft above sea level.
As incessant rains created chaos in the hill station, a large number of people were marooned, and the 28 km-long road that connects it to the Abu Road railway station was partially damaged.
Tanveer Hussain, a medical officer at the government hospital in Mount Abu, told The Hindu that life was thrown out of gear as it had been raining incessantly for the past two days. “There were two incidents of landslide, but thankfully, the route to Abu Road is still somewhat functional despite partial damage,” he said. “All the markets, offices and schools in the town were closed.”
( With inputs from Jacob Koshy )
