Guwahati: Despite the northeast witnessing a diverse rainfall pattern this monsoon, with Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya recording deficient rainfall, IMD’s prediction of heavy rainfall across all the states of the region brings a ray of hope for farmers reeling under draught-like conditions.Four states along the southern belt of the region — Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland — received normal rainfall, while Arunachal, Assam, and Meghalaya recorded deficient rainfall.“The recent rainfall in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and parts of Nagaland, which are in the southern part of the northeast, is not due to the monsoon rain. These states have received a good amount of rain in the last one month due to low-pressure systems formed over the Bay of Bengal,” said KN Mohan, head at the Regional Meteorological Centre of IMD, on Sunday.He added that clouds that cause low-pressure-induced rainfall stay at a lower altitude. “Since these clouds are not coming up to Assam, there has not been much rainfall in Assam, Arunachal, etc.,” Mohan said.He added that rain caused by low-pressure systems could not cross the hills and reach Assam or beyond. “Northeastern states which are closer to the Bay of Bengal received a good amount of rain, but these low clouds formed as a result of low-pressure could not travel towards the northern side of the region because of the obstruction created by hills,” Mohan said.The silver lining is IMD’s prediction of rainfall in the northeast this week, covering even the states which are reeling under a rainfall deficit. IMD has predicted light and moderate rainfall at several places, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, over the next seven days. Isolated heavy rainfall is very likely over Assam and Meghalaya from July 20 to 26, and Arunachal from July 20 to 22 and on July 25 and 26.As per IMD, the cumulative amount of rainfall experienced by Tripura (652.2 mm), Mizoram (727.5 mm), Manipur (394.2 mm), and Nagaland (421.7 mm) during the monsoon season between June 1 and July 20 has come in the normal range. However, rain received in Assam (418.6 mm), Arunachal (447.1 mm), and Meghalaya (586.7 mm) during this period is in deficient category.
