June July 2023: District wise rainfall in in India’s SW Monsoon

In the month of July 2023, the second month of India’s South West 2022 monsoon, India received 318.4 mm (327.7 mm in July 2022 [i]) rainfall, 13.5 % above (16.8% above normal in July 2022) the normal July rainfall of 280.5 mm as per India Meteorological department. In July 2021, the rainfall was 266.1 mm [ii], about 6.7% below normal and in July 2020, the rainfall was 257.1 mm [iii], or about 9.9% below normal.

The total SW Monsoon 2023 rainfall till July 31, 2023, or June July 2023 rainfall was 467 mm, 4.8% above normal June July rainfall of 445.8 mm. The IMD describes the July 2023 and also the June July 2023 rainfall as normal rainfall just based on this overall national rainfall figure, that nomenclature is clearly oblivious of the spatial or temporal pattern of rainfall during the relevant months. The rainfall has been far from normal in July 2023 or June July 2023. June 2023 ended with 10.1% deficit rainfall [iv]. Similarly, June 2022 had ended with 8% deficit in rainfall [v]. Both June 2022 [vi] and June 2023 [vii] had very large number of high rainfall days at 462 and 451 respectively.

Region wise rainfall IMD divides the country into four regions: NW India, E and NE India, Central India, South Peninsula. The IMD Bar charts for each of the regions and at national level for June July 2023 rainfall are given below. National Level Bar-chart for June July 2023.

NORTH WEST INDIA:

CENTRAL INDIA:

EAST & NORTH EAST INDIA:

SOUTH PENINSULA:

State wise Rainfall As we can see from the IMD map above, out of 37 States and Union Territories (UTs), four (unlikely candidates like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Ladakh and Chandigarh) had large Excess (Actual rainfall more than 60% above normal), Ten had Excess (Actual rainfall 20-59% above normal), fifteen had normal (Actual rainfall 19% below normal to above normal), Seven had deficit (Actual rainfall 20-59% below normal rainfall) and None had Large Deficit (Actual rainfall over 60% below normal) in rainfall in June July 2023. Goa had the highest rainfall of 2475.3 mm.

Sub Division wise rainfall IMD divides India into 36 meteorological divisions (the logic of many of them is far from clear). As we can see from the map above, two sub divisions (Saurashtra & Kutch and W Rajasthan) had Large Excess rainfall, ten had Excess rainfall, eighteen had Normal rainfall and six had deficit rainfall. Konkan and Goa had the highest rainfall at 2326.4 mm and Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, had the lowest at 118.6 mm rainfall in June July 2023.

River Basin wise Rainfall As we can see from the above map, IMD also reports river basin wise rainfall, but as we have been noting in the past, this reporting remains rather callous and inadequate, unfortunately. This is clear from the map, where we can see that IMD reports NO RAIN in whole of the months June July 2023 in all these river basins: Imphal and others, Tons and Vaippar-Pamba. THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY, looking at the district wise rainfall in the maps below, among others. Clearest evidence of IMD’s devil cares attitude in reporting river basin wise rainfall. We should add here that the number of such river basins with NO RAIN reported by IMD has significantly reduced in June July 2023.

In addition, IMD reports NO DATA for Indus and Jhelum river basins. The Low rainfall reported in a larger number (eight) of river basins do not seem right considering the rainfall in these areas as reported in the districts in the river basins. Lower Brahmaputra river basin is reported to have the highest rainfall at 3584.6 mm.

DISTRICT WISE STATE WISE RAINFALL

NORTH INDIA: Jammu & Kashmiar Strangely, IMD says it has no data for rainfall in Kishtwar district of J & K as we can see from the map below.