This year’s monsoon broke 16 year records in Jammu

SYED AMJAD SHAH

Jammu, Aug 28: Even as it did not led to any colossal damage as elsewhere in the state, the Jammu region this year experienced heaviest ever rainfall in the last sixteen years during monsoon, the metrological department’s figures show.

Describing it as ‘excess rainfall’, meteorological officials told Greater Kashmir that the seasonal down pour during the monsoon months till late August 2010 was recorded around 998.7 mm. They said that the region this year witnessed full-fledged monsoon after a long span of dry spell over the years.

Many a times it posed an impending threat with major rivers in the region flowing above the danger mark and flash floods in the rain fed streams, but it indeed broke the vicious cycle of dry spells being experienced in the region from year after year, the met officials maintained.

They said that the normal rainfall during monsoon in Jammu region was considered at 675.6 mm, while this year it was recorded at 998.7 mm, which is about thirty percent more than the normal, indeed an excess rainfall. “It was after sixteen long years that the monsoon in Jammu was recorded above the normal otherwise over these years, on very less occasions it fluctuated near the normal, while remained deficient for most of these years.

However, last times above normal monsoon was recorded in the year 1996 which was quite high. : “In 1996, the rainfall was recorded at 1087.5 mm and it was a record since then.”

Though Kashmir region also received above than the normal rainfall of 246.1 mm but it was very low as compared to Jammu region.

Officials said that Srinagar also recorded 246.1 mm rainfall and it was a more than normal rainfall of the season.

“The met department in Srinagar recorded 90.8 mm more rains than normal. The normal down pour remains around 155.3 mm,” they added.

The abnormal trend of monsoon in Leh however proved catastrophic as it claimed many precious lives and damaged property worth crores of rupees, while there were only sporadic incidents of damages and loss of lives across Jammu and Kashmir despite experiencing more than the normal rainfall.