New Delhi: One of world’s wettest places, Cherrapunji in Meghalaya saw a record rainfall of 972 mm in the last 24 hours, the highest in June since 1995, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. According to reports, Cherrapunji had recorded 811.6 mm of rainfall two days back. IMD data shows that the place has recorded over 800mm rain on a single day in June on nine occasions.   


According to Sunit Das, Scientist E at IMD's regional centre in Guwahati, Cherrapunji has received a total of 4081.3 mm rainfall this month. Earlier, on 16th June 1995, the town had logged 1563.3 mm of rainfall.


"It doesn't always rain like this. 50-60 cm is normal (in Cherrapunji) once or twice every year. But 80 cm and above is certainly not usual," news agency PTI quoted Das as saying.


"A trough has been persisting over the region for some days and southwesterly winds have been continuously bringing a lot of moisture from the Bay of Bengal. These winds smash against the cliffs of the Khai hills and give rainfall," he added.


Cherrapunji saw 673.6 mm of rainfall on Thursday, 811.6 mm on Wednesday, 62.6 mm on Tuesday, 293 mm on Monday and 354 mm on Sunday, as per IMD data.


According to the weather office, this ongoing spell of extreme rainfall is likely to continue over the next one or two days, and thereafter, the intensity is likely to decrease. 


Mawsynram, the wettest place in India, gauged 710.6 mm of rainfall in 24 hours on Wednesday, the maximum since June 1966.


Earlier, on June 10, 1966, Mawsynram had recorded 717.6 mm of rainfall and before that on June 7, 1966, it received 944.7 mm of precipitation, the highest on a June day since IMD began maintaining records.


"Mawsynram is at present the wettest place in India, with an average annual rainfall of 11802.4 mm (average of the 1974-2022 period). Cherrapunji receives 11359.4 mm of rainfall in a year (average of the 1971-2020 period)," Das said.


Overall, the northeast and east India has recorded 220.3 mm of rainfall, 39 per cent above normal since June 1.


Meghalaya saw 865.7 mm of rainfall, 153 per cent more than normal, since June 1. Arunachal Pradesh reported 253.1 mm rain, 22 per cent more than normal, while Assam logged 372.9 mm, an excess of 79 per cent.


However, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura have reported a rainfall deficiency of 50 per cent, 46 per cent and 38 per cent respectively, as per IMD.