New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recently announced that the southwest monsoon is in withdrawal. During a recent press conference, the IMD stated that Gujarat witnessed an overall rainfall increase of 8%.

According to the IMD report titled ‘Salient Features of the 2024 Southwest Monsoon Season,’ released on October 1, Gujarat experienced approximately 66 days of extremely heavy rainfall events—wherein rainfall exceeded 204 mm (8 inches) in a 24-hour period for a city or taluka.

A map illustrating these events indicates that over 300 such occurrences took place across India this monsoon season, with Gujarat accounting for one-fifth of these instances. IMD officials clarified that the term “events” refers to occurrences rather than specific days, as multiple events could transpire within the same day.

The data shows that July experienced around 12 of these events, mainly in Saurashtra; August saw 50 events across Kutch, Saurashtra, and central and south Gujarat, while September recorded four events, all in central and south Gujarat. States like Maharashtra (37 events), Telangana (27), and Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka (21 each) also had a high number of such events.

Ashok Kumar Das, head of the IMD in Gujarat, noted various factors contributing to these events. “Gujarat is among the states experiencing a significant positive deviation from average rainfall. This year was particularly active for the Bay of Bengal, with around 14 low-pressure formations and six depression systems observed. Most of these moved in a northwest direction, bringing rains to parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan,” he explained.

The report further reveals that the Saurashtra-Kutch subdivision recorded the highest rainfall excess at 75% among all Indian subdivisions, followed by west Rajasthan at 72% and east Rajasthan at 47%. DeshGujarat