At a time when several parts of India are grappling with high rainfall and resulting floods and landslides, the Indian Meteorological Department has signalled that this might continue in September as well. On Sunday, it said that the country is likely to receive above-normal rainfall in the upcoming month.

In its monthly update, the department said that the September monthly average rainfall is expected to be more than 109 per cent of the long-period average of 167.9 mm.

IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said there is a slight increasing trend in September rainfall since 1980, barring less rainfall in the month in 1986, 1991, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2015 and 2019.

Northwest India recorded 265 mm of rainfall in August, the highest for the month since 2001 and the 13th highest since 1901.

Which regions will see above-normal rain in September? According to IMD, most parts of the country will receive above-normal rainfall. However, North India will continue to face major challenges as it may trigger landslides and flash floods in Uttarakhand and disrupt normal life in South Haryana, Delhi and North Rajasthan.

“Many rivers originate in Uttarakhand. So, heavy rainfall means many rivers will be flooded, and it will impact cities and towns downstream. So, we should keep this in mind,” Mohapatra said.

Moreover, heavy rainfall is expected in the upper catchment areas of the Mahanadi River in Chhattisgarh.

Which regions have been most impacted by rainfall this year? High rainfall this year has coincided with a series of extreme weather events. Punjab suffered its worst flooding in decades as overflowing rivers led to breached canals, destroying thousands of hectares of farmland and displacing lakhs of people.

In the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, cloudbursts and flash floods triggered landslides and caused widespread damage to life and property. Tourist activities like Vaishno Devi Yatra have been suspended.

Intense rain and cancelled flights in Chennai In the Southern region, Chennai also witnessed heavy overnight rains, disrupting life in the metro city. Several flights from Bengaluru, Delhi, France and Mangaluru, scheduled to arrive in Chennai were diverted to Bengaluru due to heavy rainfall in the wee hours of Sunday.

Why is it raining so much this year? Frequent western disturbances have supported the active monsoon conditions this year, enhancing rainfall, especially over the Himalayan region.

According to IMD, active western disturbances between 28 July and 14 August triggered heavy to very heavy rain over the western Himalayas and adjoining plains. This caused a flash flood and landslide in Uttarkashi on 5 August, and major riverine floods in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The monsoon revived rapidly from 14 August, with four low-pressure systems sustaining active conditions for 15 days in the second half of the month.

Northwest India and the adjoining western Himalayas saw “extremely and exceptionally heavy rainfall events” between August 21 and 27, due to successive active western disturbances and strong monsoonal winds.

Moreover, very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall occurred over east Rajasthan from August 22 to 24, and over Punjab and Haryana from August 23 to 26. Jammu and Kashmir saw landslides in Katra and severe flooding, along with Punjab and parts of Rajasthan.

In the western belt, exceptionally heavy rainfall was recorded Konkan and the ghats of Madhya Maharashtra on 20 August, in east Rajasthan on 23 August, in the Jammu region on 27 August and in Telangana on 28 August.