4-Month Monsoon Season Ends with ‘Normal’ Rain Despite El Nino Effect: IMD

New Delhi: The four-month-long monsoon season in India with “normal” rains in the country this year. The country received 820 mm rains against a long-period average of 868.6 mm, stated IMD.

IMD Director-General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra on Saturday said, with positive factors countering the effect of El Nino, the 2023 monsoon ended with 94.4 per cent cumulative rainfall, which is considered “normal”.

At a press conference on Saturday, he said 73 per cent of the sub-divisional area recorded normal precipitation, while 18 per cent saw deficit rain.

The IMD said east and northeast India recorded 1,115 mm of rainfall against a normal of 1,367.3 mm, which translates to a deficit of 18 per cent.

Northwest India gauged 593 mm of rainfall against a long-period average of 587.6 mm. Central India, where agriculture predominantly depends on monsoon rains, recorded 981.7 mm against a normal of 978 mm.

The south peninsula recorded a deficit of eight per cent.

August 2023 marked the driest month since 1901 and the hottest ever recorded in India, attributed to the strengthening of El Nino conditions. However, September brought an excess of rain due to multiple low-pressure systems.