NEW DELHI: Meghalaya is among the states which are receiving more rainfall for the last few years and it is likely to increase, according to a report of the India Meteorological data.
The IMD’s analysis of rainfall data between 2009 and 2013 shows Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Konkan, Goa, coastal Karnataka and Kerala have recorded heavy rainfall for more than 20 days during monsoon. In the North East, Meghalaya and Assam recorded an average of 70 heavy rainfall events in that period, it adds.
“The seasonal monsoon data has also shows that the number of light to moderate rainfall days is declining since 1980s compared to the years before that,” the IMD data says. These extremely heavy rainfall events triggered large-scale flooding and flash floods killing hundreds across the country.
The IMD categorises rainfall between 64.5mm and 124.4mm as heavy and rainfall between 124.5 mm and 244.4mm is categorised as very heavy.
Meteorologists and weather scientists say recent studies have indicated that there has been a rise in heavy and extreme rain events in India as well as around the world. Anthropogenic climate change has been cited as one of the chief reasons behind this rising trend. “With rising temperatures, the water bearing capacity of the atmosphere increases and more moisture is drawn from the oceans. The result is sudden precipitation and this phenomenon has been documented globally,” the IMD report says.
