No rain yet for one of India’s wettest places

In March, April and May, Agumbe in Shimoga district has received 158% less rain at only 44.2 mm rainfall when the normal rainfall in this season is 198 mm.

Agumbe in Karnataka’s Western Ghats, one of the wettest places in the country known for its rich biodiversity, had received only zero mm rainfall in May.

A woman walks with an umbrella in an open field during sudden rain in New Delhi(Biplov Bhuyan/HT PHOTO)

In March, April and May, Agumbe in Shimoga district has received 158% less rain at only 44.2 mm rainfall when the normal rainfall in this season is 198 mm. Agumbe attracts nature lovers and conservation researchers from around the world. Its rainforests give it a unique ecosystem. The Bangalore weather department couldn’t give reasons for the deficiency in pre-monsoon rains and said it needs to analyse and check if this was the lowest rainfall for the season in decades.

“Mawsynram in Meghalaya is the wettest part of the country. There are other wet places too like Agumbe. Entire Karnataka has received deficient pre-monsoon showers, Agumbe is no exception. How wet a place is determined by rainfall it receives in the monsoon months, not the pre-monsoon months. The state authorities will be better placed to speak about whether there is an anomaly in Agumbe,” said M Mohapatra, IMD’s director general of meteorology.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the highest maximum temperature was recorded in west Rajasthan’s Ganganagar. It was 49.6°Celsius. Navdeep Dahiya who runs Live Weather of India, a private weather forecasting initiative tweeted Saturday: “#Churu in #Rajasthan recorded 50.8°c maximum temperature today. Breaking it’s previous Record of 50.2°c recorded on 19th may 2016. First 50°c+ in #India in current summer season. With Just 0.2°c Churu missed All time high of Country which is Phalodi 51.0°c recorded on 19/05/2016.”