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Mawsynram

Coordinates: 25°17′N 91°21′E / 25.28°N 91.35°E / 25.28; 91.35
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Mawsynram
village
Mawsynram is located in Meghalaya
Mawsynram
Mawsynram
Location in Meghalaya, India
Mawsynram is located in India
Mawsynram
Mawsynram
Mawsynram (India)
Coordinates: 25°17′N 91°21′E / 25.28°N 91.35°E / 25.28; 91.35
Country India
StateMeghalaya
DistrictEast Khasi Hills
TalukasMawsynram C.D. Block
Area
 • Total2,788 km2 (1,076 sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialEnglish, Khasi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
793113
Telephone code03673
Vehicle registrationML
Nearest cityMawphlang
ClimateCwb

Mawsynram (/ˈmɔːsɪnˌrʌm/) is a village in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya state in north-eastern India, 65 kilometres from Shillong. Mawsynram receives one of the highest rainfalls in India. It is reportedly the wettest place on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of 11,872 millimetres (467.4 in),[1][2][3][4] but that claim is disputed by Lloró, Colombia, which reported an average yearly rainfall of 12,717 millimetres (500.7 in) between 1952 and 1989[5][6] and López de Micay, also in Colombia, which reported 12,892 mm (507.6 in) per year between 1960 and 2012.[7][8] According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Mawsynram received 26,000 millimetres (1,000 in) of rainfall in 1985.

Location

Mawsynram is located at 25° 18′ N, 91° 35′ E, at an altitude of about 1,400 metres (4,600 ft), 15 km west of Cherrapunji, in the Khasi Hills in the state of Meghalaya (India) . The name of the village contains Maw, a Khasi word meaning stone.

Climate and rainfall

Under the Köppen climate classification, Mawsynram features a subtropical highland climate with an extraordinarily showery and long monsoonal season and a short dry season. Based on the data of a recent few decades, it appears to be the wettest place in the world, or the place with the highest average annual rainfall. Mawsynram receives over 10,000 millimeters of rain in an average year, and the vast majority of rain it falls during the monsoon months. A comparison of rainfalls for Cherrapunji and Mawsynram for some years is given in Table 1.[9]

Primarily due to the high altitude, it seldom gets truly hot in Mawsynram. Average monthly temperatures range from around 11°C in January to just above 20°C in August. The village also experiences a brief but noticeably drier season from December until February, when monthly precipitation on average does not exceed 30 millimetres (1.2 in). The little precipitation during the village’s "low sun" season is something that is shared by many areas with this type of climate.


Table 1: Comparison of rainfalls for Cherrapunji and Mawsynram between 1970 and 2010.

Year Cherrapunji Rainfall (mm) Mawsynram Rainfall (mm)
2010 13,472 14,234
2009 9,070 12,459
2008 11,415 12,670
2007 12,647 13,302
2006 8,734 8,082
2005 9,758 10,072
2004 14,791 14,026
2003 10,499 11,767
2002 12,262 11,118
2001 9,071 10,765
2000 11,221 13,561
1999 12,503 13,445
1998 14,536 16,720
1997 8,993 9,892
1996 12,989 12,850
1995 14,189 13,832
1994 11,194 10,940
1993 12,807 13,848
1992 8,537 10,450
1991 13,494 16,112
1990 11,598 12,934
1989 13,432 8,828
1988 17,948 16,750
1987 13,153 undefined
1986 8,140 undefined
1985 11,816 26,000
1984 16,761 25,613
1983 9,773 12,163
1982 10,468 9,246
1981 9,113 9,739
1980 9,133 9,739
1979 12,095 undefined
1978 6,950 undefined
1977 11,689 11,986
1976 11,012 6,134
1975 11,976 10,639
1974 24,554 undefined
1973 10,911 undefined
1972 11,095 undefined
1971 16,915 undefined
1970 15,318 undefined

[10][11] [12][13] [14][15][16][17][18]

Nature made stalagmite in Mawjymbuin Cave, Mawsynram Meghalaya.[19]

Three reasons can be cited for high rainfall at Mawsynram:[citation needed]

  1. The warm moist winds of the northward-moving air from the Bay of Bengal during the monsoon, which cover an extensive area but are forced to converge into the narrower zone over the Khasi Hills, thus concentrating their moisture.[citation needed]
  2. The alignment of the Khasi Hills (east to west) places them directly in the path of the airflow from the Bay of Bengal, producing a significant uplift (plus cooling, further condensation and thus more rain).[citation needed]
  3. Finally, uplift over the Khasi Hills is virtually continuous in the monsoon period because the lifted air is constantly being pulled up by vigorous winds in the upper atmosphere, hence the rainfall is more or less continuous.[citation needed]

Natural landmarks

Located in Mawsynram, is a cave named Mawjymbuin, known for its stalagmites.[20] Inside this cave is a pair of notable speleothems - breast-shaped stalactite over a massive stalagmite. The area is known for its many caves, commercialised and non-commercialised, which contain remnants of a past that tells us of the history of the plateau that was once present.

References

  1. ^ "Global Weather & Climate Extremes". Arizona State University World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Meghalaya: The Wettest Place on Earth". The Atlantic. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  3. ^ "India's Mawsynram villagers who live in the wettest place in the world with 40 FEET of rain a year". Daily Mail Online. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Mawsynram, India". National Geographic. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  5. ^ http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/faunayflora/pacific1/cap10.htm
  6. ^ Luiz Drude de Lacerda (2004). Environmental Geochemistry in Tropical and Subtropical Environments. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 177–. ISBN 978-3-540-42540-3.
  7. ^ "Weather Extremes : New Wettest Place on Earth Discovered? - Weather Underground". wunderground.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "¿Descubierto en Colombia un nuevo lugar más húmedo en la Tierra?". tiempo.com.
  9. ^ The Tribune, Chandigarh, August 2003. [full citation needed]
  10. ^ http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1975.pdf
  11. ^ http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1978.pdf
  12. ^ http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1984.pdf
  13. ^ http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1987.pdf
  14. ^ http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1995.pdf
  15. ^ http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1998.pdf
  16. ^ http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1992.pdf
  17. ^ http://www.megplanning.gov.in/handbook/2008.pdf
  18. ^ http://www.cherrapunjee.com/weather-info/rainfall-chart/
  19. ^ The Scotland of the East! The Hindu, October 15, 2007
  20. ^ "Khasi Hills: Mawsynram". Department of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
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