According to figures from the Union home ministry, 624 persons have died in rain-related accidents in India so far this monsoon season.
Following the figures from the Union home ministry, 624 persons have died in rain-related accidents in India so far this monsoon season. This is a decrease of roughly 32% from the same time previous year.
Given that several areas of India experienced below-average rainfall this year compared to 2022, the home ministry data confirms the findings of the Indian Meteorological Department that heavy rainfall is associated with deaths and property loss.
However, Himachal Pradesh has reported 99 deaths this year as opposed to 187 during the same period last year, despite certain areas experiencing record-high rainfall. This can be explained, according to a state disaster management official, because of the absence of significant rain-related traffic accidents this year.
There haven’t been many deaths recorded in other places that have also experienced flooding and water logging.
Gujarat has so far had the most fatalities this year, at 103; these deaths were likely brought on by Cyclone Biparjoy, which made landfall in the state. There have been 87 reported deaths in Karnataka, 38 in Assam, 36 in Rajasthan, 19 in Haryana, and 11 in Punjab. The number of fatalities in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh during this time last year was high, but so far this year, there have been fewer instances of heavy rains.
According to data from the ministry, 99 persons have passed away in Himachal Pradesh so far this monsoon season compared to 187 in 2022.
A representative of the state government’s disaster management division explained this by stating that this year’s rainy season saw no significant road accidents due to improved landslide alarm systems and the onset of the rainstorm after the busiest travel period, which concluded on June 30. Data was about five times greater than in 2022 indicates that property damage in Himachal this year.
Compared to five and zero deaths respectively in 2016 due to extreme flooding, Punjab and Haryana have reported 11 and 19 deaths, respectively. However, many areas in the two states, including Yamunanagar and Karnal in Haryana and Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab, continue to be under water.
According to a comparison of the daily situation reports from the home ministry, 38 people died in Assam during southwest monsoon season compared to 193 deaths there in 2022. In contrast to this year, 89 persons perished in Meghalaya and Manipur in 2022 as a result of excessive rainfall. The 2024 monsoon season saw insufficient rainfall in both of these northeastern states.
Lack of rainfall in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, which jointly reported 187 deaths in 2022 as opposed to 92 this year as of June 15th, is another factor in the lower overall death toll this year.
According to the research, this year’s monsoon rains have affected about two lakh hectares of farmland as opposed to 2.48 lakh hectares in 2022.
The analysis stated that because there have been less rains in India’s plains this year than there were in 2022, there has been less damage to dwellings.
The southwest monsoon is becoming more irregular, according to numerous studies, which have been conducted over the past 20 years as extreme weather occurrences have increased.
According to the weather agency, since 2013, when extreme rainfall caused thousands of deaths in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand, there has not been a single year without a significant extreme rainfall event.
