January 2018- The Driest Month Since 1901

Since 1901, the whole of january 2018 has been recorded as the driest month for the country. About 2.2mm of average rain was recorded across India till January 24.  India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials stated that  the figure is unlikely to change much as it has hardly rained since then and there’s little in next few days.

Winter rain and snow is not only important for rabi crops but also for recharge of underground aquifers and Himalayan glaciers. As per IMD officials normal rainfall in january across India is 19.2mm. IMD data spanning the past 117 years reveals that the driest January so far was in 2007, when 2.8mm rain was recorded. January 2018 is likely to be lower from all the previous records.

Low rainfall recorded this january across the country is because of the path of western disturbances, which bring cold and wet weather into north India, has been more northerly than usual, officials said. Most of these systems, instead of moving along north Rajasthan and Punjab, swept through northern Jammu & Kashmir. As a result, they had little impact on the weather in north India.

Rain in the winter season also plays an important role in cleansing the air. Pollution usually peaks during this time of the year as the mercury plunges. Rain in northwest India in January is a result of an interaction between easterly troughs and western disturbances,”Instances of this interactions were missing this year even though a good number of western disturbances passed the region. The interaction took place just once, during January 23-24.

Incidentally, three of the seven driest months of January since 1901 have come since year 2000. Apart from this year and 2007, also figuring in the list is 2001, which recorded just 6.5mm of rain countrywide during the month.