The monsoon of 2017 has challenged India's conventional and simplistic definition of the complex tropical circulation
IT WOULDN'T be inaccurate to say that the 2017 monsoon has been all about floods. At least 11 states experienced floods since the onset of the monsoon in June. Till the magazine went to print, 150 districts, or over a fifth of the country’s districts, have received more than 100 mm of rain in a single day. More than 1,000 people have died and several millions affected. The situation has not abated.
But as we enter the final month of the monsoon, it would seem paradoxical to say that the monsoon of 2017 is also about a drought looming over large parts of the country. Around 40 per cent of the districts have received deficient rainfall. Parts of north, central and south India are about to face a drought. The distribution map issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows a large corridor of deficient rainfall areas (see map).
Consider this: only less than a fourth of the 400-odd weekly monsoon observations from June 1 at the 36 meteorological subdivisions recorded a normal rainfall. Yet, IMD has categorised all four geographical regions within the margins of a “normal” rainfall. That means extreme rainfall for a few days has compensated—and in some cases over-compensated—for the striking deficiency, indicating widespread imbalances in rainfall distribution.
This story is from the September 1, 2017 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 1, 2017 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE ALCHEMY OF EMOTIONS - SL'OTH
As with all personality traits, laziness is a combination of genes and environment
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS - WRATH
Anger is an emotional programme, a part of natural selection that helps us bargain for better treatment
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS - GLUTTONY
We have been captured by food and it is driving us to do something that is arguably not good for us
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS - ENVY
Envy gives people a fundamental desire for a higher social rank
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS-L'UST
Love, lust, attachments are basic brain circuits. They are too primitive a system and will never change
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS - GREED
Evolutionary biology sees greed as a way to increase your chances of survival
THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS
I felt for the tormented whirlwinds Damned for their carnal sins Committed when they let their passions rule their reason
INVISIBLE THREAT
Significant presence of microplastics in Puducherry’s agricultural soil raises concerns for soil and crop health
Feeding off each other
VEGETARIAN MOVEMENTS IN SOUTH ASIA AND THE WEST GREW WITH MUTUAL SUPPORT AND VALIDATION
India's unhealthy patent amendments
Despite strong pleas, the Modi regime has changed the rules to impose a cost on those who challenge faulty patents