According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD),August saw the lowest rainfall in 19 years, with a shortfall of 24% over the long-period average (LPA).
During the period 1901-2021, the average maximum temperature was the third-highest, the average minimum temperature was the ninth highest, and the mean temperature was also the third-highest.
The northwest, central, and neighboring peninsular and west coasts of India had modest rainfall during two significant episodes of weak monsoon on August 9-16 and August 23-27, respectively.
July 2021 was the sixth-warmest July on record, with mean temperature of 28.52 degrees Celsius
When the minimum temperature was 24.88 degrees Celsius, it was the third-warmest July on record, according to the July 2021 report from HT. The average temperature for July was 28.52 degrees Celsius, which was 0.55 degrees Celsius above normal for the month.
According to IMD, the country’s average maximum, minimum, and mean temperatures in August were 31.75 degrees Celsius, 24.39 degrees Celsius, and 28.07 degrees Celsius, respectively. This is compared to a normal of 31.09 degrees Celsius, 24.01 degrees Celsius, and 27.55 degrees Celsius for the 1981-2010 period, according to IMD.
OP Sreejith talks about climate change
OP Sreejith, head, IMD’s climate monitoring, and forecast group, commented that the monsoon remained suppressed for several days over a significant area of the country in August, which resulted in high temperatures (both maximum and mean).
When there is less rain, there is less cloudiness, and the temperature rises. However, this is a symptom of climate change, which explains why numerous recent months have set temperature records.
In its Physical Science Basis report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also stated that we can expect record temperatures in the next few years.
August average maximum temperature in central India the second-highest ever; witnesses weak monsoon rains
Since 1901, August’s average maximum temperature (31.25 degrees Celsius) in central India has been the second-highest ever, while the average minimum temperature (24.50 degrees Celsius) is the sixth-highest and the average mean temperature is the third-highest (27.88 degrees Celsius).
August 9-16 and August 23-27 saw two large periods of weak monsoon rains, with the northwest, central, and adjacent peninsular and west coast of India receiving little rain.
Intraseasonal fluctuation in terms of week-by-week rainfall variation over India reveals a prolonged period of low monsoon rainfall activity.
Because there were fewer low-pressure systems than normal and they didn’t migrate as far west as they normally would have, the Indian Meteorological Department said in a statement on Friday.
The Indian Ocean is negative. Unfavorable monsoon conditions prevailed in August due in large part to the presence of a dipole across the tropical Indian Ocean. Because there were fewer Typhoons in the West Pacific, their remnants did not migrate westward into the Bay of Bengal. These changes led to the Bay of Bengal experiencing less precipitation.
Heavy rains lead to loss of life and livestock in various states
As a result of torrential rains, flooding, and landslides, 91 people were killed and 13 were injured in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh throughout August.
Twenty-nine livestock and 30 humans were killed in Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu as a result of lightning strikes.
Many areas in western Madhya Pradesh, western Rajasthan, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, and Assam, along with the Konkan and Goa regions had high and exceptionally heavy (above 20cm) rainfall in August.
Two hundred and seventy-two stations reported extremely heavy rainfall, and another 272 stations reported very heavy rainfall (11.5cm to 20cm). India’s Delhi Ridge recorded 14.9cm of rain over 24 hours in August. 12.74cm was the previous record.
