Monsoon withdraws from Himachal Pradesh

SHIMLA - The southwest monsoon, which brought bountiful rains to Himachal Pradesh this year, has withdrawn, the weather bureau said here Tuesday.

This year the rainfall was 16 percent more than the normal in the state, compared to a 36 percent deficit last year.

“From June 1 to Sep 28, the state experienced 977.4 mm of rain against the normal of 831.7 mm,” Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.

He said the monsoon this year has broken the record of 15 years.

“After 1995, it was for the first time that the state got the highest excess rain. In the past 15 years, the highest surplus rain was witnessed in 2003 (4 percent),” he said.

In 1995, the state experienced 17 percent more rainfall than normal.

He said all the 12 districts in the state, except Lahaul and Spiti, got normal to excess rainfall.

“Till date, Lahaul and Spiti saw deficient rainfall of 19 percent, whereas Kinnaur district recorded 210 percent more rains,” he added.

Shimla, once the summer capital of the British, experienced 40 percent more rainfall till date. It saw 999.9 mm of rain against the normal of 715.9 mm.

The southwestern monsoon that reached the state July 5, normally starts receding from the region by Sep 15. But this year it was delayed.

Himachal Pradesh’s agriculture and horticulture-based economy is highly dependent on the monsoon.