New Delhi: After an overwhelmingly strong spell of rains in August, India is set for an even wetter month as the weather bureau has forecast over 109% of normal rainfall in September, the last month of the crucial southwest monsoon season.

In its latest update on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said India logged 268 mm of rainfall in August, 5.2% above normal. The country has received cumulative rainfall of over 6% more than normal since June,it said.

“The rainfall in September is likely to be above normal, more than 109% of the long period average,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of meteorology at the IMD. For September, the long period average rainfall over the country, based on data from 1971 to 2020, is about 167.9 mm.

Likelihood of flooding, landslides The IMD cautioned that while surplus rain supports kharif crops, soil moisture and reservoirs, it also heightens the risks of flooding, landslides, disruptions to daily lives.

The country’s northwest region recorded 265 mm of rainfall in August, the highest for the month since 2001, over 34% more than the long period average of 197.1 mm. The abnormally high rains led to floods in Punjab and triggered landslides and flash floods in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir.

During the season, Northwest India has received 614.2 mm of rain between 1 June and 31 August, 26.7% higher than the normal of 484.9 mm.

On its September forecast, the IMD said that most parts of the country are likely to receive normal to above-normal rainfall. However, some parts of northeast and eastern India, many areas of extreme south peninsular India and some parts of northernmost India, may get below-normal rain.

Northwest India–especially Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand–is set for another spell of heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next three to four days, the IMD said.