Disastrous weather events rose 3.5 times this October over last year: Govt to parliamentary panel

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 2

Disastrous weather events have been rising sharply with September and October 2021 witnessing the highest frequency of extremely heavy rainfall spells over the past five years.

There was a 3.5 time increase in the disastrous weather events this October compared to 2020.

In a presentation to the parliamentary committee on environment chaired by Congress veteran Jairam Ramesh on Monday, the Ministry of Earth Sciences said extremely heavy rainfall events in September rose from 29 in 2017 to 44 in 2018; 59 in 2019; 61 in 2020 and 89 in 2021.

Likewise in October, the number of extremely heavy rain spells rose 3.5 times since the last year from 10 in 2020 to 36 in 2021.

The presentation came as world leaders gathered at Glasgow to discuss climate change.

Extremely heavy rain events in October were 12 in 2017; 17 in 2019 and 16 in 2020, the ministry said.

Extremely heavy rainfall is defined as rainfall above 205.4 mm as against very heavy rainfall which is measured between 115.6 mm and 204.5 mm.

Active western disturbance and its interaction with low pressure systems in October besides late withdrawal of southwest monsoon from the country are among the main reasons the government cited for disastrous weather conditions.

The ministry said the southwest monsoon set over Kerala on June 3 against the normal date of June 1 and covered the entire country by July 8 against the normal date of July 13.

Monsoon withdrawal commenced from October 6 against the normal date of September 17 and withdrew from the entire country on October 25 against the normal date of October 15.

“The duration of the monsoon was longer by about three weeks over northwest India and almost normal over south India,” the ministry said, as the world leaders gathered in Glasgow for COP26 climate change conference.

The disastrous weather events this year caused flash floods over Odisha, Saurashtra, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat in the months of September 2021.

In October extremely heavy rainfall events occurred in Kerala, Uttarakhand and western UP besides Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Vidarbha and south Madhya Pradesh.

“Extremely heavy rain over sub Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and Bihar also led to flash floods and landslides,” the government told the committee.