Heavy overnight rains that caused destruction in parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand were the result of a “violent interaction” between dry westerly winds and moisture-filled easterlies, meteorologists said on Tuesday.
The rains swept away at least five people and left over 500 stranded in Dehradun and nearby areas. In Himachal’s Mandi district, three members of a family died as landslides and flash floods hit a bus stand.
C S Tomar, head of the India Meteorological Department’s regional centre in Dehradun, said the persistent rains in both states were caused by the meeting of dry westerlies and moist easterlies. He added that this interaction is likely to continue for the next 24 hours.
Mahesh Palawat, vice president at private forecaster Skymet, said no major weather system was active in the region. “The rains were a result of violent interaction between warm and dry winds due to an anti-cyclone near Rajasthan and humid easterly winds,” he explained.
This monsoon has been harsh for Himachal Pradesh. Officials said 232 people had died in rain-related incidents so far. The state has seen 46 cloudbursts, 97 flash floods and 140 landslides, causing losses worth Rs 4,504 crore. The IMD has not confirmed the cloudburst figures.
Rainfall has been unusually high in north Indian states. Uttarakhand has recorded 1,343.2 mm of rain, which is 22 per cent above normal, while Himachal has rceived1,010.9 mm, 46 per cent above normal.
The IMD said the southwest monsoon, which started pulling back from northwest India on September 14, three days earlier than usual, has now withdrawn further from several parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab.
The season has been marked by extreme events in different regions. Punjab saw its worst floods in decades, while Himachal and Uttarakhand faced repeated cloudbursts and flash floods. The IMD attributed the excess rain to active monsoon conditions supported by frequent western disturbances.
Central India has recorded 1,002 mm of rainfall so far, 10 per cent higher than the normal 906.8 mm. The southern peninsula has received 7 per cent more than its average 631.5 mm. East and northeast India, however, have seen 998.8 mm of rain, 19 per cent below the normal 1,233.9 mm.
In May, the IMD had predicted that India would receive 106 per cent of the long-period average rainfall of 87 cm during the June-September monsoon. Rainfall between 96 and 104 per cent of this 50-year average is considered normal.
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