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There were eight instances of exceptionally heavy rainfall during the month of July according to data, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of India Meteorological Department (IMD), told journalists during the agency’s monthly press conference on August 1.
According to the IMD’s definition, the term ‘exceptional heavy rainfall’ is used when precipitation in a single day equals the highest rainfall recorded at that station or nearby during the month or the entire season. However, this term is only used when the actual rainfall exceeds 12 centimetres.
The highest rainfall in the month — 56 cm (560 mm) — occurred on July 25 in Tamhini, situated in Maharashtra’s Pune district.
On the same day, Lavasa in Pune received 45 cm of rain while Lonavala received 35 cm.
The first instance of exceptional heavy rainfall in July occurred on July 8, affecting western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In this region, Baheri in Bareilly district received 46 cm of rain, and Banbasa in Champawat received 43 cm of rain.
Similarly, exceptionally heavy rainfall occurred in Saurashtra on July 19 and 20. On July 19, Porbandar district’s Porbandar area received 49 cm of rain, Kalyanpur in Devbhoomi Dwarka district received 29 cm, and on July 20, Dwarka area in the same district received 42 cm of rain.
July experienced an overall rainfall of 298.1 mm, which is the 51st instance since 1901 and eighth since 2001.
The data presented at the press conference also detailed instances of heavy and extremely heavy rainfall over the past five years.
For example, in July 2024, there was very heavy rainfall (115.6 to 204.5 mm) at 1,030 stations, while 193 instances of extremely heavy rainfall (above 204.5 mm) were recorded. However, there has not been a notable change in these patterns over the past five years, and there was no mention of extraordinary rainfall in this period.
According to the official, in the second part of the monsoon season, most parts of the country are expected to experience rainfall ranging from normal to above normal. However, regions including northeastern and eastern India, as well as parts of Ladakh, Saurashtra-Kutch, and some areas of central and peninsular India, may receive below-normal rainfall.
Mohapatra also mentioned that currently, El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions are prevalent in the equatorial Pacific region. However, it is expected that La Niña may develop by the end of August, which could be beneficial for rainfall in September.
In July, while the impact of the heat was noticeable, the maximum temperatures did not break records from previous years. However, the increase in minimum temperatures did set a new record.
In July, the all-India average minimum temperature was recorded at 24.99°C, which was 0.89°C above the normal. IMD stated that this is the highest minimum temperature recorded since 1901. The country’s average temperature for July was also the second-highest on record, at 28.65°C, compared to the normal average of 27.95°C.