New Delhi: Sohra (Cherrapunji) in Meghalaya received 972 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending 8.30am on Friday. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that this has been the highest rainfall in June since 1995. The IMD records show that the area has received more than 800mm on a day in June. A scientist E Sunit Das says that Sohra has received 4,081.3mm of rainfall this month till Friday. On June 16, 1995, the area logged 1563.3mm of rainfall. A day before, on June 15, 1995, it received 930 mm of precipitation.
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According to Das, a trough has been persisting over the region for some days and southwesterly winds have been continuously bringing a lot of moisture from the Bay of Bengal. These winds smash against the cliffs of the Khai hills and give rainfall. The spell of extreme rainfall is likely to continue for one or two days. Thereafter, the intensity will decrease, the scientist said. At an aerial distance of 10 km from Cherrapunji, Mawsynram, the wettest place in India, gauged 710.6 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending 8:30 am Wednesday, the maximum since June 1966. On June 10, 1966, Mawsynram recorded 717.6 mm of rainfall. On June 7, 1966, it had received 944.7 mm of precipitation, the highest on a June day since the IMD began maintaining records. According to IMD, Meghalaya has gauged 865.7 mm of rainfall, 153% more than normal, since June 1. Arunachal Pradesh has recorded 253.1 mm of rainfall, 22% more than normal and Assam has logged 372.9 mm of rainfall, an excess of 79 percent. Not all states in the region have seen good rainfall. Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura have reported a rainfall deficiency of 50%, 46%, and 38%.
