After witnessing poor Northeast Monsoon rain in November, the outlook for December was also bleak for Chennai. But six consecutive days of wet spell, from December 9, has raised some hope for the city struggling to cover up the December average rainfall of 191 mm.
Chennai, so far has received 79 mm of rain out of which 72 mm has been observed during the last six days. 5 mm on December 14, 10 mm on December 13, 22 mm on December 12, 35 mm on December 11, 4 mm on December 10 and traces of rain on December 9. Prior to this the city hadn’t received any rain.
Going by the meteorological data available with Skymet, this is the second longest spell of rain in Chennai in December in the last five years. The longest spell of rain witnessed during the month is 11 days, experienced in 2009, followed by 4 days in 2010 and 2012, 3 days in 2011 and 2013.
There are chances of some light rain in Chennai in next few days, which is expected to push up the rainfall figures, however, it will not be enough to cover the monthly average. And with the Northeast Monsoon on the brink, the target of 191 mm looks unachievable.
The variability of Northeast Monsoon rain in December is very high. For example, Chennai received 86 mm of rain in December last year against the monthly average of 191 mm. In 2004, the figure was even more abysmal at 6.8 mm, while in 2005, 421.5 mm of rain was recorded against the average of 191 mm. The all-time high is 699.3 mm, recorded way back in 1946.
October, was the only month when Chennai received surplus rain. The city recorded 329.6 mm of rain against the average of 279 mm, despite the Northeast Monsoon arriving late, by October 20.
