The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday predicted light to moderate rainfall in several parts of India till October 6. Parts of Jharkhand and north Odisha are likely to witness light/moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning till October 4. Parts of Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim are also likely to witness similar weather conditions till October 5. There is also a high likelihood of light/moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning in Andaman & Nicobar Islands on October 4-6.
Parts of southeast Uttar Pradesh and north Chhattisgarh are also likely to report these weather conditions on October 3. Similar weather conditions are also likely to be reported from parts of Assam and Meghalaya till October 5. Parts of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are also likely to report light/moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning till October 4. Arunachal Pradesh, on the other hand, will report similar weather conditions on October 4 and 5.
Besides this, the Met Department has also predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated parts of sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim till October 5. The weatherman has also predicted heavy rainfall in isolated pockets of southeast Uttar Pradesh, north Chhattisgarh, Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura on October 3.
Heavy rainfall has also been predicted over isolated parts of Andaman & Nicobar Islands on October 4-6. Isolated parts of Gangetic West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are also likely to witness heavy rainfall on October 4.
Similar weather conditions are expected to prevail in isolated places over West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya on October 5.
Moreover, the weather office said in a statement on Saturday that India's monsoon rainfall this year hit five-year low as the El Nino weather pattern made August the drier month in more than 100 years. Rainfall all over India during the June-September period was 94 per cent of its long period average, which is the lowest since 2018.
The monsoon was uneven, with June rains 9 per cent below average because of the delay in arrival of rains. Rains in July, however, rebounded to 13 per cent above average. August was the driest month on record with a massive 36 per cent rainfall deficit. Monsoon rainfall revived in September as the country received 13 per cent more rainfall than normal.
India is expected to receive normal rainfall during October to December, the weather department said. IMD also said that temperatures were likely to remain above normal in most of the country during October.
The Met Department had anticipated a rainfall deficit of 4 per cent for the season given the limited impact from El Nino. El Nino refers to the warming of Pacific waters typically accompanied by drier weather conditions over the Indian subcontinent.