Rain

This was a year of uneven rains. No less than 8 months were rain-deficient, but the year was bookended by exceptional rains in January and December including, of course, an all-time record rain of 54 cm over the 24 hours of 30 November/1 December, courtesy of Cyclone Fengal.

This has been a record year for the rains. Weather watchers divide our year into a dry season (January – May), the South West monsoon (June – September) and the North West monsoon (October – December).

The year 2020 has turned out to be a really good rainfall year. It didn’t start well. In the first five months we received only 62 mm as compared to the average of 102.8mm, or 39.79% less.

Exceptionally, this year’s north east monsoon began on time and extended into early January, 2020. Nevertheless, Charlie’s measurements in Aurogreen showed a 5.88% deficit in comparison with the average north east monsoon rainfall.

In an article first published on Auronet, Rishi Walker identifies the causes and possible responses to the present urgent water situation in Auroville.

Charlie reports that the Aurogreen community has received 260.90 mm this year so far. This represents a deficit of 29.23% over the average for this period for the past 42 years.

In the months of July and August, Auroville benefitted from unexpected rains. In July 153 mm fell, against an average of 73.1= for the last 39 years.

It seemed that the skies would never relent. One woke up to the sound of the heavy, steady rain. One went to bed with that sound reverberating in one’s mind.