While incessant rains continued to pound the northeast and battered the region with floods, it brought much-needed relief from the severe heatwave in Northern and Western India, improving the air quality at the same time. At least 22 people, including 13 in Meghalaya and 9 in Assam, were killed in floods and landslide incidents caused due to the continuous heavy rainfall in the Northeastern region.
Meghalaya’s Mawsynram
Meghalaya’s Mawsynram, the wettest place in India, gauged an enormous 1003.6 mm of precipitation in 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Friday, the highest ever on a day in June, while neighbouring Cherrapunji received 972 mm of rainfall, the IMD said.
The rainfall in Cherrapunji, also one of the wettest places in the world and at an aerial distance of 10 km from Mawsynram, was the highest in June since 1995 and the third highest in 122 years. Mawsynram had gauged 710.6 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending 8:30 am Wednesday. Before Friday’s record rainfall, it had received 944.7 mm of precipitation on June 7, 1966, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data showed.
“Mawsynram is at present the wettest place in India, with an average annual rainfall of 11802.4 mm (average of the 1974-2022 period). Cherrapunji receives 11359.4 mm of rainfall in a year (average of the 1971-2020 period),” Sunit Das, Scientist E at IMD’s regional centre in Guwahati, said. One of the wettest places in the world, Cherrapunji has recorded more than 800 mm of precipitation on a June day on nine occasions since the IMD started keeping records in 1901.
Till Friday, Cherrapunji has received a total of 4081.3 mm rainfall this month. In 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Wednesday, the town nestled in the East Khasi Hills gauged a copious 811.2 mm of rainfall. On June 16, 1995, Cherrapunji logged 1563.3 mm of rainfall. A day before, on June 15, 1995, it received 930 mm of precipitation. The hill station reported 973.8 mm of precipitation on June 5, 1956.
Southwest Monsoon has further advanced into entire Westcentral Bay of Bengal, most parts of northwest Bay of Bengal, some parts of Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand and some more parts of Bihar today: India Meteorological Department— ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2022
Rains continue to batter Assam
The flood situation in Assam turned critical on Friday with nine more people, including two children, losing their lives, taking the death toll in this year’s floods and landslides in the state to 55, a bulletin said. The deaths were reported in Hojai, Nalbari, Bajali, Dhubri, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, and Sonitpur districts. Two people were reported missing in Hojai and Sonitpur districts.
A total of 18.94 lakh people remained affected in 28 districts of the state, the bulletin issued by Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said. Landslides were reported in Dima Hasao, Goalpara, Hojai, Kamrup and Kamrup (Metropolitan) and Morigaon.
Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal called up Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and discussed the situation with him. Several rivers including Brahmaputra, Kopili, Paladadiya, Jia-Bharali, Manas and Beki were flowing above the danger level. Workers at the under-construction dam site of 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project were asked to leave as the Subansiri River was flowing above the danger level due to heavy rain in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh which inundated several villages in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts, an official said.
An alert has been sounded in Karbi Anglong, Morigaon and Nagaon districts after the opening of four sluice gates of NEEPCO’s Karbi Langpi Hydro Electric Project at Langdong in Dima Hasao district. Flooding in urban areas was reported in Kamrup Metropolitan, Bajali, Barpeta, Darrang, Goalpara, Morigaon, Kokrajhar, Nalbari and Udalguri districts, the ASDMA bulletin said.
Guwahati has been severely affected by continued water logging in most parts of the city for the fourth consecutive day, with areas such as Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, Zoo Road, Six Mile, Noonmati, Bhootnath, Maligaon, Bamunimaidam, Rajgarh Link Road, Hatigaon, Rukimingaon, Fatasil and Gotanagar remaining severely affected. Road communication has been affected in several districts with 234 roads and 16 bridges being damaged, while landslides on NH 6 in neighbouring Meghalaya disrupted traffic movement between Guwahati, Shillong, Silchar and Agartala.
Sonitpur district administration has closed down NH 15, connecting Lakhimpur, Dhemaji along with Itanagar and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, for heavy vehicles and the situation was being strictly monitored, an official said. The second wave of floods this year have impacted 96 revenue circles and 2,930 villages while 1,06,677 people have taken shelter in 363 relief camps.
Tripura
Over 24 hours of heavy to moderate rainfall have left Tripura’s Agartala city and its suburbs areas inundated. Most of the areas were inundated with massive water-logging across the city. Not only the city roads, houses in the city were in most of the localities were flooded.
A resident in Kasharipatti area of Agartala city shared that her entire house is flooded from kitchen to living room.
Rain brings respite to Delhi from heat, air quality improves
Intermittent rain in the national capital on Friday brought down the temperature by 3.5 degree Celsius, giving much needed relief to the residents of the city.
In the past 9 hours, from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., a total of 11.9 mm of rainfall was recorded at the Safdarjung observatory due to which the city recorded a maximum temperature of 36.7 degree Celsius, 3.5 degrees less compared to the previous day.
The maximum temperature at other areas was Ayanagar and Lodhi Road 37.2 degrees, Palam 37.6, Ridge 36.2, Jafarpur 37.4, Mungeshpur 36.3, Najafgarh 39, Pitampura 37.3, and Salwan Public School 34.3 degree Celsius.
As per IMD update at 8.30 p.m., the city was having a relative humidity of 87 per cent and the wind was blowing in the south-southeasterly direction at a speed of 7.5 Km per hour.
Meanwhile, due to the rain spell, the air quality in the national capital has drastically improved.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city was 96 for PM10 and 30 for PM2.5. Delhi has 36 monitoring stations that accurately record the levels of both particulate matters.
Usually, the air quality is categorised as ‘good’ when the AQI is between 0 to 50; ‘satisfactory’ between 51-100; ‘moderate’ between 101-200; ‘poor’ between 201-300; ‘very poor’ between 301-400; ‘severe’ between 401-500; and ‘hazardous’ at over 500.
IMD Predicts Heavy Rains in Konkan, Central Maharashtra from June 18
The coastal Konkan region and central Maharashtra are likely to witness heavy rainfall activity from June 18, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday. “In view of active monsoon conditions, rainfall activity over Konkan and adjoining ghat areas of Madhya (central) Maharashtra is expected to gradually increase from June 18. Widespread rainfall activity with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places is expected over the region during the period,” it said.
The IMD said the southwest monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of north Arabian Sea, Gujarat, entire central Maharashtra and the Marathwada region. The monsoon has also advanced to some parts of south Madhya Pradesh, most parts of Vidarbha, entire Telangana, some areas of south Chhattisgarh, south Odisha, most parts of the coastal Andhra Pradesh, some more parts of West central and northwest Bay of Bengal on June 16, the weather office said.
Rain in Parts of Eastern Rajasthan
Light to moderate rain was recorded in parts of the eastern Rajasthan during the last 24 hours, a Meteorological (MeT) department spokesperson said. Jaipur Meteorological Centre Director Radheshyam Sharma said the pre-monsoon activities will continue in the districts of Jaipur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Bharatpur, Kota divisions of East Rajasthan in the next four to five days.
In most areas of Jodhpur division, the weather will remain mainly dry for the next four-five days. The spokesman said that during the last 24 hours, Bundi, Rajgarh, Bharatpur and Sapotra recorded 4 cm rain each. Various other places recorded 1 to 3 cm rainfall.
He said that till 5.30 pm on Friday, Alwar recorded 35.4 mm, Dholpur 0.5 mm, Anta 1 mm and Karauli 9.5 mm rainfall. According to the department, Sangaria of Hanumangarh was recorded hottest with 42.7 degrees Celsius followed by 42.1 degrees C in Churu, 40.9 degrees C each in Dholpur and Nagaur, 40.4 degrees C each in Bikaner and Karauli, 39.5 degrees Celsius in Barmer, 39.4 degrees Celsius in Jaisalmer.
Major places in the state on Thursday night recorded temperature in the range of 23.2 degrees Celsius to 30.8 degrees Celsius.
Partly cloudy sky, light rain, thundershowers likely in J&K
Weather was inclement in Jammu and Kashmir during the last 24 hours as the MeT department forecast partly cloudy sky with light rain, thundershowers towards the afternoon on Friday.
“Partly cloudy sky with light rain/thundershowers is likely in J&K during the next 24 hours”, an official of the MeT department said.
Srinagar had 15.1, Pahalgam 9.4 and Gulmarg 5.5 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature.
Drass town in Ladakh had 5.9, Leh 10.2 and Kargil 10.6 as the night’s lowest temperature.
(With inputs from agencies)
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