Union Minister of Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday that at least five states in India have shown significant decreasing trends in southwest monsoon rainfall during the last three decades (1989-2018).

The five states, including five Northeastern states, are Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

The minister informed that India Meteorological Department (IMD) had carried out an analysis of observed monsoon rainfall variability and changes of 29 states and Union Territory at State and District levels.

The IMD issued a report on March 30, 2020 based on its observational data of recent 30 years (1989-2018) during the Southwest monsoon season from June to September.

As per press release by Ministry of Earth Science, Dr. Singh stated the highlights of the report as:

• The annual rainfall over these five states along with the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh also show significant decreasing trends.

• Other states do not show any significant changes in southwest monsoon rainfall during the same period.

• Considering district-wise rainfall, there are many districts in the country, which show significant changes in southwest monsoon and annual rainfall during the recent 30 years period (1989-2018). With regard to the frequency of heavy rainfall days, significant increasing trend is observed over Saurashtra & Kutch, Southeastern parts of Rajasthan, Northern parts of Tamil Nadu, Northern parts of Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas of Southwest Odisha, many parts of Chhattisgarh, Southwest Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Manipur & Mizoram, Konkan& Goa and Uttarakhand.