Source: Twitter
Shillong, June 18 – The rain capital of the world Cherrapunjee or Sohra washed away its 27-year-old third highest rainfall for the month of June and missed the second highest record by a whisker.
The quaint town was pounded under 972.0 mm rainfall on June 17. With this, the town broke the previous third highest rainfall of 930.0 mm recorded on June 15, 1995, according to met officials.
It also missed the second highest recorded rainfall for June by a whisker. The second highest record stands at 973.8 mm recorded on June 5, 1956. However, the highest rainfall recorded for the month of June stands at an unbelievable 1563.3 mm recorded on June 16, 1995.
The months June and July are the rainiest owing to the onset of monsoon and accounts for 47.5 per cent of the total annual rainfall received in Cherrapunjee. The average rainfall for the month of June is 2,470.8 mm. However, July rainfall is more intense and the average monthly rainfall is about 3000 mm.
The highest rainfall recorded in a month was 8,204.7 mm recorded in July 1974. In the same year, Cherrapunjee recorded 24,555.3 mm, the highest recorded annual rainfall in the world.
The rain capital held the record for being the rainiest place on earth. It records an annual average rainfall of just over 11, 000 mm. However, this record has been shattered by the nearby town Mawsynram which records an average annual rainfall of 12, 000 mm.
One of the reasons for the high rainfall in Cherrapunjee is its topography as it sits on a plateau that juts vertically from the plains of Bangladesh. Nestled at 4823 feet above the sea level, the rain bearing clouds from the Bay of Bengal give up its climb at Cherrapunjee plateau causing the heavy rainfall.
