South west monsoon breaks a 6 year record in rainfall

With the south west monsoon season technically coming to a close, the state has received 257 cm of rainfall - the highest level recorded in the last six years and the fifth highest rainfall ever recorded in the state.
South west monsoon breaks a 6 year record in rainfall

With the south west monsoon season ‘technically’ coming to a close, the state has received 257 cm of rainfall - the highest level recorded in the last six years and the fifth highest rainfall ever recorded in the state during the season.

The standard south west monsoon season - from June 1 to September 30 - ended on Monday, but the Met Department has said that the state will continue to receive rainfall in the coming days.

“Though the standard season has ended, the south west monsoon has not completely withdrawn. This will happen around October 15, when rainfall begins to cease from regions in north and central India,” Thiruvananthapuram Meteorological Centre director K Santosh told Express.

The highest rainfall recorded during the south west monsoon season was in 1924, when areas under the state received as high as 312 cm of rainfall.

This was followed by 294 cm in 1961 and 261 cm in 1968. In 2007, the state received a total rainfall of 279 cm, bettering the record of 1968.

Though this year’s south west monsoon was poised to break the 2007 record, it could not achieve the feat owing to a lean phase in September. South west monsoon rainfall in the state this year was 26 per cent excess. A district-wise analysis of rainfall data from June 1 to September 30 shows that Kannur received the maximum rainfall during the south west monsoon season - 344 cm - an excess of 29 per cent. Kannur was followed by Idukki district which received a total rainfall of 334.5 cm.

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The New Indian Express
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