The wettest country in the world. Cherrapunji is the wettest place on earth
Hello friends! Today I will tell you an interesting fact about the wettest city on earth - Cherrapunji. If you like the article, don't forget to like it.
In India, in the state of Meghalaya, there is a small town called Cherrapunji. About 10,000 inhabitants live here. The city is located 1313 m above sea level. It is here that the greatest amount of precipitation falls. Record numbers were recorded from August 1860 to July 1861. The highest monthly precipitation here occurred in July 1861. In millimeters, the annual precipitation record was 26,471, and the monthly record was 9,299 mm.
From November to February, the city experiences a dry and cool climate. The average temperature in January is +11.5 degrees, and in August the air warms up to +20.6.
The local population uses homemade “shells” woven using banana leaves and bamboo for rain protection. This item serves as an umbrella for them.
The soil in this area is poor, rains wash away everything useful. Limestone and coal are mined here. There is a cement plant on the territory of the city.
The name of the city means “abode of clouds.” Their large number can be explained by evaporation that occurs under the influence of sunlight. Air masses moved by the wind move to the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Here they rise upward, pouring out sweat in the form of showers.
For tourists, showers cannot prevent them from enjoying their holidays and visiting local attractions, since precipitation mainly falls at night.
No matter how strange it may sound, there is not enough water in this region with the highest rainfall. This is especially noticeable in winter. So what is the reason for this paradox?
The answer is simple, constant deforestation allows water to flow from the mountain slopes into the valleys located closer to the city of Bangladesh.
Several additional reservoirs and dams can solve the problem, but so far this is all only at the design stage. This stage drags on for quite some time, and the local population continues to live in conditions of water shortage.
This city has a unique nature with a lot of flowers. For example, you can find a wide variety of orchids here. Their number is close to 300 species. Insectivorous plants are also present here.
The residents of this place have to adapt to the peculiar climate and they do it well. One adaptation option is to grow "". Special trees are suitable for this, the roots of which are guided along a special wire frame. When the tree roots take the shape of a bridge, the bridge is ready for use. This process takes almost 10-15 years, and sometimes even 25. These years are spent not just waiting for the roots to grow, but regularly directing them according to the shape of the frame, tying them with special knots.
Such bridges can be used for a long time, as over time they only become stronger. The oldest bridge in use is 500 years old. The wood used to make this bridge is rubber.
The main population of the city of Cherrapunji are Khasis. Their social structure is based on the principles of matrilineality. In a new family, after the wedding, the husband lives in his wife’s house, and the children are registered under the mother’s surname. All property is inherited through the female line. The fight for men's rights is just beginning here.
Most megacities, be it eastern exotics or urban western reinforced concrete jungles, are familiar with the phenomenon of precipitation. In inclement weather, most people tend to close windows and doors more tightly, sit in a cozy chair under a blanket and with their favorite book. But often residents of especially humid big cities have to put on a raincoat, arm themselves with an umbrella and go outside, since the usual activities cannot be canceled. The words of the poet “nature has no bad weather” seem to guide the rainiest city in the world, when after the first drops of rain it instantly blooms with a colorful carpet of various umbrellas.
1. Cherrapunji, India (12,000 mm of precipitation per year)
The amount of precipitation in this Indian city is more easily perceived in meters - 12 meters of water is poured onto the heads of the townspeople here every year! There are endless downpours here for 5 months of the year, during which time they carry away almost all the soil, preventing agriculture from developing. And in 1980, nature went wild here and literally flooded the city, pouring an almost 26.5-meter-thick layer of water onto it! The wettest month happened in July 1986, when the level of precipitation stopped at a beautiful number of 10,000 mm.
The Khasi Mountains, into which clouds saturated with moisture rest and pour it on the heads of the unfortunate townspeople, contributed to the city of Cherrapunji becoming a bed for a heavenly waterfall. However, they still do not give up and try to resist the elements, also using nature itself - building bridges from trees. Using a wire frame, they direct the roots of rubber trees to a certain place and wait for them to grow in the desired direction. This almost miraculous bridge, by the way, turns out to be quite strong and can support the weight of 50 people. The climate here is typically monsoonal: after five months of endless rain, an even longer 7-month drought sets in. The dry and fairly cool season here occurs from November to February.
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2. Tutunendo, Colombia (11,500 mm)
For each of the 4,000 inhabitants of this Colombian city, 11.5 meters of water rains down from the sky every year. Throughout the year, there are an average of 280 days of rain there, and most often they occur at night. Perhaps this feature does not allow the elements to interfere too much with the life of the local inhabitants, who are engaged not only in agriculture, but even in tourism.
3. Buenaventura, Colombia (6,000-7,000 mm)
The population of this Colombian city is approximately the same as in our Sochi, but it is less fortunate than the Sochi residents, since 6-7 meters of precipitation falls here annually. This dampness is facilitated by the peculiarity of the location of the city and the surrounding landscape: it is sandwiched on a tight strip of land between the steep Andes and the mighty Pacific Ocean. As a result, cyclones saturated with water rush towards Buenaventura in a line, are slowed down by the mountains above it and dump their liquid cargo onto the city streets.
4. Monrovia, Liberia (5,140 mm)
The Liberian capital is a fairly large city with a population exceeding a million people. And all these people have to endure rain almost all year round. Why have so many people come here and don’t want to move somewhere more pleasant to live? The fact is that the Americans at one time established here the only duty-free seaport in West Africa, which is a source of funds both for the entire country as a whole and for the residents of Monrovia in particular. The tropical monsoon climate prevails here, and just from a climate point of view, living here is not easy, but where else can you earn so much money? And although the monsoon climate also has a dry season, it often rains during it.
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5. Mawlamyine, Myanmar (4,750 mm)
This city is quite famous in its own country, but not at all because it “does not dry out.” In fact, there are an abundance of Buddhist pagodas and temples, excellent national cuisine and an abundance of tropical fruits. And only then do I remember the endless streams of water from the sky falling on local attractions. The climate here is tropical, however, while in Southeast Asia the relative humidity is usually high, here it is much lower. In the coldest January, the temperature here “drops” to +26 degrees, and in the hottest month - April it is quite a bit more - +30 degrees. The rainy season here falls on June-October, and July and August are the most generous with precipitation.
6. Lae, Papua New Guinea (4,650 mm)
Another wet place on the body of our planet was on the northern coast of the island of New Guinea, which is washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean, namely in Huon Bay. Surprisingly, in this case, the abundance of precipitation benefited the area, because they learned how to grow tea and coffee plantations well. Agriculture is the main source of income for the Lae city budget. Although every time the rainy season comes, it seems that the downpours are about to wash the town straight into the ocean. But he somehow holds on, and even quite successfully.
7. Hilo, Hawaii (3,300 mm)
If you look at the image of the Hawaiian Islands on advertising brochures and websites of travel companies, it is all palm trees, beaches and a sea of sunshine. However, it is not shown anywhere that heavy rains occur there, and very often. In the mountains of the island of Maui, where the national park is located, 3 meters of heavenly moisture falls per year, on the other islands it is even more - 4 meters. As for the city of Hilo, 3.3 meters of water drops per year fall from the sky onto its streets, houses and the heads of passers-by. And this is not surprising, because on average 272 days are rainy here.
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8. Kochi, India (3,230 mm)
This is another Indian tropical city located in the south of the country, with the same monsoon climate. Over the entire year, there is an average of 132 rainy days, and the wettest months are from May to October. Kochi is located on the western coast of India, washed by the waters of the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is partially located on a peninsula, as well as on a group of coastal islands, but the other end also extends onto the mainland, and its total area is 95 square meters. km. Kochi is located very close to the equator (9°58’N latitude). The coldest time here passes at a temperature of +23 degrees, and the greatest heat is expressed at +31 degrees.
9. Taipei, Taiwan (2,405 mm)
Most of the year, island China is sunny and warm, however, in July-September 3-4 typhoons sweep through it. Taipei has a typical humid monsoonal subtropical climate with humid and hot summers. It is then that typhoons bring heavy rainfall here. In general, the typhoon season is longer, as it lasts from May to November. Winter here is short and very mild, with frequent fogs. If the average summer temperature is +26-28 degrees, then in winter it drops to +14-16 degrees. From a tourism point of view, the best time to visit Taipei is in the spring (February-April), when it is not so hot, but typhoons with heavy rains have not yet begun.
10. Bergen, Norway (2,250 mm)
In this Norwegian city it rains 300 days a year, which could not but leave an imprint on its lifestyle. In order to somehow brighten up their hopeless, wet existence, residents came up with the idea of wearing multi-colored rubber boots, raincoats with funny designs, and there were vending machines everywhere selling umbrellas, which the workers serving them had to replenish with new goods every day. Bergen residents even make jokes to themselves related to the rain. The city is surrounded by fairly high mountains in a basin, which is open only from the sea. Therefore, the clouds that have flown into the valley rest against the mountains and, having no other way out, are unloaded over the city with endless rains.
But an unpleasant weather surprise here cannot take you by surprise - after all, in the summer there will certainly be rain, and in the winter there will be snow, which, however, will instantly melt, since even in January the average temperature here is above 0 degrees. It is not surprising that in our age of globalization, when any city has a very diverse national composition, 97% of Norwegians live in Bergen. Foreigners simply cannot withstand such weather conditions for long, they constantly yearn for sunny days and are looking for any opportunity to get away from this town, far away, but closer to the sun and warmth. There is even a local joke about the weather: “A wet and dissatisfied tourist asks a local boy - tell me, boy, how long ago has this rain started? To which he replies: “I don’t know, because I’m only 7 years old.”
Believe it or not, there is a place that is statistically the rainiest place in the world. No, this article is not dedicated to London - there is a corner of the planet where there is much more rainfall, and it is located in the northeast of India - in the state of Meghalaya, in the city Mawsynram.
The rainiest place on the planet is India
The World Meteorological Organization station, located in Mawsynrama, has been recording rainfall since 1851. According to statistics, the annual precipitation rate is 11872 mm, which is almost 12 meters! There was even a world record for annual precipitation, amounting to 26,470 mm, which is several times more than in the period from August 1860 to July 1871, which was considered the rainiest period.
According to the data, the greatest amount of precipitation fell in 1985 and amounted to as much as 23,818 mm, and the driest year is considered to be 1980 - only 6,195 mm of precipitation fell. To make it easier to understand these figures, we note that, for example, the annual precipitation rate in Moscow is 691 mm. A couple of other Colombian places are vying for the championship of being the wettest place in the world, but the city of Mosinrem is not inferior to them.
Of course, it's only a matter of time until these cities and countries rank high on the scale of wettest and driest places in the world. After all, we observe climate change from year to year, and it is not yet known whether the leader will change next year.
Many people think that London is the rainiest place in the world. This is wrong. In fact, England is not the rainiest country even in Europe. For comparison, the annual precipitation rate in Moscow is 691 millimeters, in London - 599 mm. Below is a list of the ten rainiest places on Earth, but several regions claim the title due to differing data from different meteorological services.
Kikori, Papua New Guinea
Kikori is a settlement located in the delta of the river of the same name on the island of New Guinea. The region is notable for its diverse ecosystem, dense forests and complex network of rivers. The average annual precipitation here is about 5 840 mm.
Andagoya, Colombia
Andagoya is a town in western Colombia. Known for its equatorial and humid climate, with similar temperatures throughout almost the entire year. The average annual precipitation here is 6,817 mm. It usually rains at night.
Henderson Lake, British Columbia
Henderson Lake is a lake with an area of 14.94 square meters. km. It is located in southwestern Canada, 3,700 km west of the capital Ottawa, on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia. On average, rain falls annually in the vicinity of the lake. 6,903 mm precipitation.
Bellenden Ker Range, Australia
The Bellenden Ker Range, also known as the Wooroonooran Range, is a coastal mountain range located in the far north of Queensland, 2 thousand km from the Australian capital of Canberra. It stretches for 65 km and is the wettest area on the mainland. The annual precipitation here exceeds 8 312 mm.
Quibdo, Colombia
Quibdo is a city located on the Atrato River in western Colombia. Known as the rainiest place in Latin America and one of the wettest regions on our planet. On average it falls here 8,989 mm precipitation per year.
Debunja, Cameroon
Debunja is a village in the Fako department, Cameroon. It is located on the southwestern slope of the active Cameroon volcano, in the southwestern region of the republic. This village with average annual rainfall 10,299 mm ranked fifth in our ranking.
Waialeale, USA
Waialeale is a volcano located in the very center of the island of Kauai, Hawaiian Islands. On its slopes the average rainfall is 11,684 mm precipitation, and special climatic conditions contribute to the development of lush vegetation. Due to frequent rains, the top of the volcano is almost always hidden either in thick fog or haze.
Cherrapunji, India
Cherrapunji is a small town in the Indian state of Meghalaya. It is located on the Shillong plateau, north of the border with Bangladesh at an altitude of 1313 m above sea level. Along with the village of Mavsynram and the city of Lloro, it is the rainiest and wettest place on Earth. It falls here every year 11,777 mm precipitation.
Mawsynram, India
Mawsynram is a settlement located at an altitude of 1400 m above sea level in northeast India, 16 km west of Cherrapunji. This village, together with the city of Lloro and Cherrapunji, is considered the rainiest place in the world. It falls here every year 11,872 mm precipitation.
Lloro, Colombia
Lloro is a municipality and city in Colombia. According to estimates based on records from a weather station installed in the city, this area holds the absolute record for the most rainfall in the world - on average 13,300 mm in year.
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Illustration copyright Alamy Image caption "The wettest place in the world." It's hard to disagree, isn't it?
When asked where the wettest place on Earth is, smart people can smugly answer that it’s in the Mariana Trench.
Yes, it really is wet in the Western Pacific, the deepest place on our planet, with more than 10,000 meters of water overhead. But if we're discussing the planet's wettest place on land, the answer may be more difficult, the correspondent notes.
Currently, the Guinness Book of Records gives the palm to the village of Mosinram in India. Moisture brought from the Bay of Bengal, from the northeast Indian Ocean, collects over a plateau at an altitude of more than 1491 m, in the Eastern Khasi Mountains, from where the plains of Bangladesh are visible.
The consequence of such condensation is an astonishing average amount of precipitation per year - more than 11871 mm. The tallest monument in the world, the 30-meter statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro would be knee-deep in water in such rains.
It is not surprising that this region has lush vegetation, many waterfalls and bizarre caves carved by water into limestone.
Illustration copyright Daniel J. Rao AlamyJust over 10 km to the east on the slopes of the Assam Mountains lies the town of Cherrapunji, traditionally called Sohra by locals, which is known as the second rainiest place on the planet.
It is inferior to Mosinram in terms of average annual rainfall by only 100 mm, but it has plenty of other titles and records. It was here that the wettest month and wettest year on record were recorded.
In July 1861, precipitation here was 9300 mm. Since August last year, Cherrapunji has held the record for total annual rainfall of 26,470 mm.
Both of these extremely rainy localities are located in the state of Meghalaya, whose name translates as the abode of clouds.
Illustration copyright Getty Image caption Living in the rain that almost never stops...Local residents always carry unusual huge umbrellas woven from reeds, called “knups”.
They cover the entire body from the rain, allowing owners to carry out daily activities, mainly repairing roads and buildings destroyed by the rain. Or go get some food.
Farming in the region is impossible due to heavy rains, so produce from less rainy areas is sold in covered markets under waterproof canopies.
Illustration copyright Getty Image caption This is what Mosinram looks like. A sad sight...Another significant challenge is maintaining bridges in tropical rainforests, where traditional building materials rot quickly. Local residents found an ingenious solution - to tie thin tree roots to each other. The bridge consists of a bamboo frame, which is tied with the roots of rubber trees.
After 6-8 years, the bamboo rots, and what remains is a “living bridge” of roots that are already able to support the weight of a person. Over time, such a structure only gets stronger and can withstand bad weather perfectly.
Indian rubber trees ( Ficuselastica) They are distinguished by strong flexible secondary roots growing from the tree trunk.
Local residents throw hollowed out betel tree trunks across streams and rivers, using them as guides for the fine rubbery roots.
Illustration copyright National Geographic Image Collection AlamyAs soon as the roots reach the soil on the other side, they begin to harden and become stronger.
It takes about ten years to create a living bridge, but then such structures can last for centuries. The oldest bridge in the region is known to be over 500 years old.
Although settlements in the Khasi Mountains hold the historical rainiest record, it has recently been suggested that the rainiest place in the world may not be there at all.
There are two main contenders, both in Colombia. However, technically they cannot be compared with the Indian champions.
Lloro is a city in northwestern Colombia, in the province of Chocó. On a farm near the city, the recorded average annual rainfall between 1952 and 1954 was 13,473 mm.
This is much higher than at Mosinram, but the measurements were made using outdated instruments and therefore cannot claim an officially recognized record.
Illustration copyright Christian Werthenbach AlamyMeteorological historian Christopher S. Burt says another city on the other side of the Andes could also boast record rainfall.
“In fact, the wettest place on Earth is Puerto Lopez in Colombia, where the average annual rainfall is 12,892 mm,” he says.
But Burt points out that while rainfall has been continuously recorded for 50 years in the area, there is a lack of data for several months in the middle of that period.
This means that rainfall data for Puerto Lopez are considered discontinuous and cannot be compared with other areas of the world that have 30 years of continuous records.
“Even so, because the data has been recorded for so long and there are so many years without missing data, I can confidently say that Puerto Lopez typically receives more rainfall on average per year than Mosinram,” Burt said.
This Colombian city is damp all year round due to its location in the foothills of the Northern Andes, which stretch along the country's west coast.
"Here tropical moisture from the Pacific Ocean is constantly flowing into the surf zone... the mountains block the path of this flow, and as a result there is almost constant rain over Puerto Lopez. I think on average 320 days a year it rains. Rainfall is more or less evenly distributed in throughout the year,” explains Bert.
Opinions differ regarding the average precipitation and the likelihood of getting wet in the rain. For example, you'll likely get wet in Mosinram, but you're even more likely to leave Puerto Lopez with squelchy boots.
Until recently, the record for the wettest two-day period was held by Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, where a tropical cyclone swept through. The question arose: is Reunion the sole champion of such a single meteorological phenomenon?
Illustration copyright Hemis Alamy Image caption Reunion Island. A day without rainIn the spring of 2014, a panel of experts from the World Meteorological Organization concluded that the two-day record for wet weather belongs to Cherrapunji, which recorded a staggering 2,493 mm of rainfall on June 15-16, 1995.
This brings us back to the state of Meghalaya, which has earned its reputation as a rainy region thanks to its legendary monsoons. It is the predominant seasonal wind pattern that brings extreme rainfall to south and southeast Asia each year.
Due to the monsoon, almost 90% of Mosinram's record annual rainfall may fall within six months, from May to October. The wettest month is July with its record 3500 mm.
But during the dry winter months from December to February there is very little rainfall.
And when local residents lack drinking water, the title of the wettest place on Earth sounds like a mocking paradox.