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This year's August witnessed more extreme rainfall as compared to last year's with a 30 per cent increase in the number of days with extreme rainfall as found by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
India experienced extremely heavy rainfall events on 22 out of the 31 days from August 1 to August 31, 2024 compared to 17 days last year during the same period.
These events include the three days when India recorded exceptionally heavy rainfall events in three stations in Rajasthan, Tripura and Gujarat.
Rajasthan received 380 mm of rains in 24 hours on August 10, 2024. This is higher than higher than the 329 mm average rainfall the district receives in the month of August.
Bagafa station, South Tripura received 490 mm of rains in 24 hours on August 21, 2024.
In Gujarat, Khambhalia station in the Devbhoomi Dwarka district and Jamnagar station received 430 mm and 380 mm of rains respectively on August 27, 2024.
By IMD’s definition, ‘extremely heavy rainfall’ is observed when a region receives 204.5 mm or more precipitation in 24 hours. Meanwhile, when daily rainfall approaches the highest recorded amount for that month or season at a station, it is termed as an ‘exceptionally heavy rainfall’ event.
While the extreme rainfall in August is not unusual, the IMD data analysed by Down To Earth (DTE) showed that the extreme rains during August have been more widespread and devastating.
To understand the severity of rains in August 2024, DTE categorised extreme rainfall into three levels — Stations with 24 hours rains in the range of 210-300 mm, 301 mm-400 mm and more than 400 mm.
The IMD data analysed by DTE showed that 117 weather stations spread across 14 states/UTs received rains in the range of 210 mm -300 mm in a 24-hour period.
Meanwhile, 34 weather stations across five states - Gujarat, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura, received 310-400 mm of rainfall in 24 hours.
In August, 57 stations across 17 districts in Gujarat recorded extremely heavy rainfall events, the highest in the country.
These were recorded on seven days of the month — 4th, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th.
Around 32 per cent of these stations recorded rainfall between 301 mm and 400 mm within a 24-hour period. The extreme rainfall in Gujarat on August 26, 2024, was the most widespread, affecting 28 stations across the state.
While Gujarat experienced extreme rainfall over seven days, Telangana also faced devastating downpour in the same month.
In Telangana, 21 stations in eight districts recorded extremely heavy rainfall events on a single day on August 31, 2024. Sixteen of these stations recorded rainfall between 210 to 300 mm in just 24 hours.
Meanwhile, 13 stations across six of Tripura's eight districts recorded extreme rainfall events over four days in August 2024.
The extreme rainfall triggered severe floods and landslides across several districts, causing widespread disruption and damage.
In Tripura, approximately 160,000 hectares of cropland has been completely submerged. Paddy fields and vegetable cultivation were particularly affected.
These estimates were highlighted in the recent Joint Rapid Needs Assessment conducted by Sphere India, a national coalition of humanitarian, development and resilience actors.
In Gujarat too, the rains have caused extensive damage to standing crops. The kharif season crops including cotton, groundnut, soybean and pulses have suffered significant damages to an extent that the government is still working to assess the damage to farmers’ crops.
Comparatively, in August 2023, at least 1.19 lakh hectares of cropped area was damaged due to heavy rains and floods as per the estimate available on India’s interactive atlas on extreme weather events which is developed and managed by the Centre for Science and Environment.
It is important to mention that the delayed retreat of the monsoon signals that September 2024 could also be devastating for the farming community.
The delayed retreat is linked to ocean cooling, which has disrupted typical weather patterns, bringing heavier rainfall, especially in southern and central India
Meanwhile, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh continue to face severe floods in September 2024, with preliminary estimates indicating damage to over 400,000 hectares of cropped land.
As per media reports, over 1,800,000 hectares of Kharif crops and horticulture have been affected in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra due to heavy rains.
So, the actual loss to agriculture due to rains, is expected to be significantly higher and may exceed the damage reported in September 2023, when approximately 274,000 hectares of cropped area was damaged across eight states.
September rainfall expected to be above normal across country, exceeding 109 per cent of the Long Period Average, according to IMD.
The monsoon retreat may be delayed and this is again not good news for the farmers. It is certain that above-normal rainfall due to the delayed withdrawal of the monsoon could damage crops, which include rice, cotton, soybean, corn and pulses, which are typically harvested from mid-September onwards.