NEW DELHI: Northeast monsoon rainfall over the core region of south India in October this year was the sixth lowest since 1901, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday.
It also said that data from 1980 to 2022 shows "there is a tendency of delay" in the commencement of northeast monsoon rainfall over Tamil Nadu and its adjoining areas.
"Northeast monsoon rainfall over the core region of the south peninsula (comprising five subdivisions of coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, south interior Karnataka and Kerala) in October was the sixth lowest since 1901," IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said at a press conference.
He said in the years with El Nino and Positive Indian Ocean Dipole, Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas get less rainfall in the month of October.
El Nino conditions -- warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean near South America -- are associated with weaker monsoon winds and drier conditions in India.
Indian Ocean Dipole is defined as the difference in the sea surface temperatures between the western parts of the Indian Ocean near Africa and the eastern parts of the ocean near Indonesia.