NEW DELHI, Dec 3: In what can raise eyebrows among the masses, a report from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has revealed that Meghalaya along with four other states have witnessed a declining southwest monsoon trend in the last three decades.
Citing the report during the winter session of the Parliament, MoS (independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, said that between 1989 and 2018, five states, viz. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Nagaland have shown a significant decreasing southwest monsoon trend.
The annual rainfall over these five states, along with Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, also show significant decreasing trends, the Union Minister informed.
Dr. Singh was replying to an unstarred question by Parthibans R and Vijayakumar in the Lower House.
However, a significant increasing trend in the frequency of heavy rainfall days has been observed over Saurashtra and Kutch, southeastern Rajasthan, northern Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas of southwest Odisha, and parts of many other states, the report said.
Dr. Singh also tabled southwest monsoon patterns for this year in the Lok Sabha.
