Shillong, Jul 19 : The monsoon magic at Cherrapunjee, the wettest place on earth, appears to be fading by the day, with locals seemingly coming to terms with a new sobriquet for their land - the world’s first wet desert.
Meteorological records show that this year during the monsoons, the hill town, now called Sohra, has received about 700 mm less rainfall till June 30. While the normal rainfall in the first 30 days of the monsoon is 2793.9 mm, Cherrapunjee received 2092.6 mm.Officials in the Regional Meteorology Centre in Guwahati hoped that the deficit would be supplemented in the next couple of months of the season.
The average annual rainfall at Cherrapunjee from 1973-2007 (35 years) is 11,952.2 mm.
Due to two consecutive years of below average rainfall in 2005 and 2006 the average has been pulled down to under 12,000 mm. 2007 received little more than the average rainfall at 12,646.8 mm.
The total rainfall at Cherrapunjee in 2005 was 9,758.0 mm and in 2006 8734.1 mm. In 2001, it was 8971.5 mm.
The decreasing rainfall statistics has prompted the authorities to rush experts to study the factors leading to the lessening rainfall.
A team of experts from the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment is expected to arrive shortly to also study the causes leading leading to massive deforestation.
Officials said the team would study and recommend measures to prevent the ecological balance from being disturbed.
Earlier, the state government had inked an agreement with the Centre for International Agricultural Development Cooperation (CIADC) of the Israeli Agriculture Ministry for technical collaboration in rainwater harvesting in Cherrapunjee.
The CIADC of the Israeli Agriculture Ministry would provide sustained education on rainwater harvesting and creation of structures for it besides funding pilot projects for regenerating forest cover.
Cherrapujee receives about 20,000 tourists annually and tourism here depends more on the fame of it being the world’s wettest place.
While tourism department officials were yet to come up with records of recent tourist flow to Cherrapunjee, they said the unrest in the Kashmir valley and Darjeeling have, to an extent, made more visitors opt for the hill station to beat the summer heat.
PTI
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