WETTEST PLACE

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28702, 27 September 1958, Page 10

WETTEST PLACE

Indian Village Record MAWSYHRAM, Assam. Official figures show that 670 in of rain fell on the small tribal village of Mawsyhram during 1957, capturing for it from neighbouring Cherrapunji the title of “The Wettest Place in the World.” Every inch c-f rain means 100 tons of rain an acre, so that the tiny 15-acre plot on which this village stands was deluged by more than 1.000,000 tons of rain ‘during the year.

Last year’s rainfall in Mawsyhram was the highest anywhere for more than 10 years. But it was not a world record. This is still held by Cherrapunji. where 905 in fell during 1861, of which 500 in fell in two months alone. London has an average of only 23in of rain a year the British Isles as a whole gets 41in; and New York and Washington, 42in. On Cherrapunji and Mawsyhram as much rain can fall in a single day as London sees in a whole year. The record for a single day is held by Cherrapunji, which, on June 5. 1956, registered 37in oi rain.

Although the two villages lie close together, it may be pouring at Cherrapunji and quite fine at Mawsyhram. On the day when Cherrapunji had its record downpour, Mawsyhram had only a modest six inches. And when a few days later, Mawsyhram had a deluge of 24 inches in a day, Cherrapunji recorded only nin* l inches.

One reason why these two villages are so much wetter than any other place on earth is that they both lie 4000 ft up. about 12 miles apart, on the edge of the Shillong plateau. When the monson clouds roll across the Bay of Bengal, they are sucked along a funnel between the hills into a cul-de-sac at the head of which he Cherrapuji and Mawsyhram. Here the warm, moist currents of air rise, trapped in the circle of hills, and precipitate their entire load of ram

Only a few miles to the north, on the other side of the plateau, the rainfall is a moderate 50in a year.—Reuter.