Odisha gets 24.5% surplus rainfall in August

Odisha received an average rainfall of 443.3 mm last month against the long term average (LTA) of 356 mm, registering a surplus of 24.5 per cent.

Of the 30 districts in the state, Malkanagiri recorded the highest rainfall of 763.3 mm, showing a surplus of 61.5 per cent, while Puri district received the lowest rainfall of 287.6 mm, a deficit of 3.4 per cent, a senior official said.

The cumulative rainfall of the state from June 1 to August 31 stood at 901 mm against the LTA of 912.4 mm, registering a deficit of 1.2 per cent, he said.

Five districts - Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkanagiri, Balangir and Jharsuguda - have received surplus rainfall of more than 19 per cent between June and August.

Altogether 21 districts, including Kandhamal, Nawarangpur, Rayagada, Cuttack, Puri, Subarnapur, Bargarh, Khordha and Ganjam, have received normal rainfall during this period, the office of Special Relief Commissioner said.

Deficit rainfall was, however, recorded in four districts - Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Angul and Deogarh.

Malkanagiri district received the highest cumulative rainfall of 1548.7 mm (34.6 per cent surplus) and Gajapati district the lowest at 616.6 mm (9.8 per cent deficit) between June and August.

There were a total of 35.7 rainy days during this period against the normal average of 40.9 rainy days, the SRC office added.