Bhubaneswar: Odisha has emerged as the first state in the country to record excess rainfall this monsoon, with a series of low-pressure systems over the Bay of Bengal pushing its rainfall 27% above normal.The state received 1,170.3 mm of rain between June 1 and September 1, against the normal of 922.3 mm, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data. IMD considers rainfall to be excess when it is 20% or more above normal.Odisha has already crossed its seasonal monsoon quota of 1,150 mm, with nearly a month of the season still remaining.“We are the only state to have got excess rainfall this monsoon. The rainfall has already crossed the annual monsoon quota of 1,150 mm. Whatever rainfall occurs from now on will be additional,” said IMD Bhubaneswar director Manorama Mohanty.Among Union territories, Ladakh has recorded the highest departure from normal rainfall — 195%, with 49.2 mm against its normal of 16.7 mm. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu has received 2,745 mm against its normal of 1,895 mm, 45% above normal.Though Kerala has received 1,373.5 mm, the figure is 22% below its normal average of 1,759 mm, making the state rain deficient. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have received 1,261 mm, higher than Odisha in absolute terms only among the UTs, but this is just 4% above their normal rainfall of 1,216.5 mm.In absolute terms, no other state has received more rainfall than Odisha’s 1,170.3 mm.IMD director-general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the weather agency’s monsoon forecast had largely remained accurate, except in Odisha, which received significantly higher rainfall than expected. He attributed the anomaly to a succession of low-pressure systems over the Bay of Bengal.“Most parts of south India and large areas of north India have remained rain-deficient, partly due to El Niño conditions,” he said.Mohapatra said around eight low-pressure systems had formed over the Bay of Bengal so far this monsoon, which is normal given the seasonal average of about 14. While June remained relatively dry, rainfall intensified during July and August, with all the systems causing rain in Odisha.“Every low-pressure system affected Odisha because the state became the gateway for these systems this year. Monsoon behaviour is inherently erratic and no season is identical to another,” he said.Sandeep Patnaik, faculty member at the School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences, IIT Bhubaneswar, said Odisha benefited because most of the low-pressure systems were concentrated over the northern Bay of Bengal.“The reasons behind their concentration over the northern Bay require further study. But in terms of monsoon rainfall, Odisha has clearly been a beneficiary this year,” he said.
