The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in a statement said that Assam has received 38% deficit rainfall in the pre-monsoon period, from March 1 to May 31 resulting to scorching heat which paralysed normal life in the state. The state recorded 40% excess rainfall last year during the season.
According to the statement released by the IMD, Assam recorded only 337 mm rain against the normal 542 mm during the pre-monsoon period.
Meanwhile, the northeast region, as a whole, has recorded 242 mm rainfall against the normal 373 mm, which means the deficit was 35% in the said period from March to May, the statement added.
Deficiency in rainfall activity has resulted in the maximum temperature crossing 37 degrees Celsius in most of the towns in Assam for the last couple of days. An IMD official said, “Almost all the districts received normal and above-normal rainfall till the end of April. However, due to the absence of cyclonic activity over the Bay of Bengal, rainfall has drastically decreased from the end of April. By the end of May, scanty rainfall has pushed up maximum temperatures.”
Guwahati recorded 37.8 degrees Celsius on Friday, up by 6 degrees.
However, Sanjay O’Neil Shaw, deputy director general of meteorology of RMD, Guwahati, said the IMD has predicted light to moderate rainfall with gusty winds at many places over Arunachal Pradesh and light rain at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura for the next five days.
