India’s monsoon is becoming more extreme

Across India, torrential rains over the past few months have swallowed an entire village in the Himalayas, flooded Punjab’s farmlands, and brought Kolkata to a standstill. This all happened in a monsoon season in which total rainfall was technically only 8 per cent above normal.

- LIGIN JOSEPH

Climate change is not simply making India’s monsoon wetter. It’s making it wilder — with longer dry spells and more extreme downpours.

The Indian summer monsoon, which delivers about 80 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall, usually sweeps in from the Arabian Sea in early June and retreats at the end of September. Growing up in India, I remember the joy of watching the rains arrive each year, the scent of wet earth, and the relief they brought after a scorching April and May. Those memories still live in me. But today, the same monsoon that once filled our rivers and hearts with hope now brings fear and uncertainty.

This year, the monsoon arrived a week early, the fastest onset in 16 years. However, an early start does not necessarily translate to higher rainfall totals for the season. The modest eight per cent above average hides the real story: many regions experienced unusually intense and frequent downpours.