Historic 2024 Monsoon: India Experiences Its Heaviest Rainfall Since 2020's Record Downpour
The 2024 monsoon season, marked by heavy and erratic rainfall, brought both opportunities and challenges to India's agriculture, infrastructure, and climate.
In the agricultural sector, the monsoon's bountiful rainfall boosted crop yields and rural incomes, potentially contributing to a rise in agricultural GDP. However, the uneven distribution of rainfall and intense bursts of rain, coupled with longer dry spells, stressed water availability and soil health, negatively impacting crop productivity. The increasing frequency of dry spells and expanding drought-prone areas amplified agricultural risk, creating uncertainty for planting and harvesting cycles.
The infrastructure sector faced devastating consequences from the extreme and concentrated rainfall events. Floods and landslides caused loss of life and damage to infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and urban drainage systems. Rapid urbanization, particularly in cities like Mumbai, exacerbated flood risks by reducing the land's natural capacity to absorb excess rainwater and creating intense localized showers that overwhelmed infrastructure.
The 2024 monsoon's heavy rainfalls are linked to climate change, with warmer air holding more moisture and causing intense but erratic precipitation. This contributes to greater unpredictability and extremes in monsoon behaviour, including more severe floods and droughts. The increased intensity of rainfall and heat accelerates the melting of Himalayan glaciers, raising risks of catastrophic floods and landslides downstream.
As climate change continues to shape India's weather patterns, adapting to more extreme monsoons will be crucial for the country's future. Investing in better preparedness, sustainable infrastructure, and climate-resilient practices will ensure that India can weather future storms.
The deluge of 2024 was particularly severe in metropolitan regions like Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai, causing serious floods and disruptions. Critical landslides in the Himalayan and Western Ghats districts resulted in the loss of natural environments and forest cover. The Public Disaster Response Force (NDRF) played a significant role in gathering supplies, coordinating rescue efforts, and evacuating people from flooded areas.
The majority of the agricultural land in India is rain-fed, and the 2024 monsoon replenished water bodies like lakes and streams that had previously dried up. The extended water levels in dams and reservoirs will ensure adequate water supply for the upcoming year's agricultural needs. Initial efforts have highlighted significant challenges in enhancing paddy fields and effectively planting winter crops such as wheat.
Nearly 70% of India's population relies on agriculture for their livelihood, making it essential to navigate these challenges with careful planning and adaptation strategies. The 2024 monsoon was influenced by the La Niña phenomenon, which brings lower water temperatures in the Pacific and strengthens the Indian rainstorm. As the country looks towards the future, adapting to more extreme monsoons will be crucial for ensuring a sustainable and resilient agricultural sector, robust infrastructure, and a stable climate system.
- The heavy and erratic rainfall during the 2024 monsoon season, linked to climate change, may necessitate a shift towards more advanced weather-forecasting systems in order to better predict and manage extreme precipitation events like floods and landslides.
- In light of the increasing impact of climate change on environmental science, such as the 2024 monsoon's influence on agriculture and weather patterns, there is a growing need for increased investment in environmental-science programs to develop strategies and practices that promote climate resilience and sustainability.
