Shimla, 1 Sep

Himachal Pradesh has witnessed its wettest August in 76 years, recording 431.3 mm of rain in the month, the most since 1949, the Shimla meteorological department said on Monday.

The August rainfall of 431.3 mm against a normal of 256.8 mm marked an excess of 68 per cent, the local weather office said in a statement.

The figures are the ninth-highest in August since records began in 1901, while the all-time record for the month remains 542.4 mm recorded in 1927, Met office data showed.

The monsoon activity was vigorous on two days – 25 and 26 August – when massive destruction was reported from Mandi, Kullu, Kangra, Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba districts.

The monsoon remained weak for five days and was normal for the remaining days in August, the weather office said.

Four districts recorded rain in excess of 100 per cent in August – Kullu (165 per cent), Shimla (123 per cent), Una (119 per cent) and Solan (118 per cent) – while it was between 85 and 93 per cent in Chamba, Bilaspur and Kinnaur districts, the statement said.

The Met office has issued a red alert for ‘extremely heavy’ rain at isolated places in Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur districts on Tuesday, besides cautioning against landslides, flash floods, land subsidence, waterlogging and swelling of water bodies.

It also predicted normal to above normal rainfall in most parts of the state in September.