Monsoon ends with 7.6% more rainfall: IMD

New Delhi: The 2024 monsoon season has ended with 7.6 per cent more rainfall than normal, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday.

Rajasthan, Gujarat, west Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh got excess rainfall, according to the IMD data. The monsoon is critical for India's agricultural sector, with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area dependent on it. This primary rain-bearing system is also essential for replenishing reservoirs that provide drinking water and support power generation across the country.

A total of 1,492 people died in India during extreme weather events in the 2024 monsoon season. The IMD reported that the country experienced 525 heavy rainfall events (precipitation between 115.6 mm and 204.5 mm) -- the highest in the last five years -- and 96 extremely heavy rainfall events (above 204.5 mm) during the 2024 monsoon. According to the data, 17 people died from heat waves -- 13 in Jharkhand and four in Rajasthan -- during the early part of the season. Kerala, which witnessed devastating landslides in the ecologically fragile Wayanad district on July 30, recorded 397 deaths due to floods and heavy rains. Assam and Madhya Pradesh recorded 102 and 100 deaths, respectively, due to floods and heavy rains. In the national capital, 13 deaths were reported as a result of floods and heavy rains.