June was dry. July recorded a significant rain deficit. August is unlikely to get a surplus, according to the Met forecast. The city’s average rainfall in June has been around 300mm based on data compiled by the Met office over the past 30 years. This year, the city got only a little above 100mm of rain in June. The usual volume of rain in July is around 390mm.
This July got only 275mm, becoming the second driest July in a decade. The average for August is around 345mm. This year, July saw surplus rainfall in most regions of the country. But east and northeastern India registered a cumulative deficit of around 45 per cent. Across the country, the period from June 1 to August 8 has seen a rain surplus of seven per cent.
“The forecast for eastern India for August is average to below-average rainfall,” said a Met official in Kolkata. “This is not a Kolkata-specific forecast. A couple of spells of heavy rain can wipe the deficit in Kolkata,” he said.
As far as the cumulative (June and July) rainfall is concerned, Kolkata has received around 380mm of rain, compared to the average of around 690mm. That translates to a deficit of roughly 45 per cent.
