Mawsynram

{{climate chart

| Mawsynram

|6.9|15.5|17

|8.8|16.8|30

|12.3|20.7|163

|14.7|22.1|451

|15.9|22.5|1083

|17.5|22.3|2348

|18.0|22.4|2467

|17.8|22.9|1714

|17.8|22.8|853

|15.3|22.0|338

|11.2|19.2|52

|8.0|16.6|11

|maxprecip=2808

|float=left

|clear=left

}}

Mawsynram is located at 25° 18′ N, 91° 35′ E, at an altitude of about 1,400 meters (4,600 ft), 15 km west of Cherrapunji, in the Khasi Hills in the state of Meghalaya (India).

Under the Köppen climate classification, Mawsynram features a subtropical highland climate (Cwb) with an extraordinarily showery, rainy 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.{{Cite journal |last1=Kuttippurath |first1=J |last2=Murasingh |first2=S |last3=Stott |first3=P A |last4=Sarojini |first4=B Balan |last5=Jha |first5=Madan K |last6=Kumar |first6=P |last7=Nair |first7=P J |last8=Varikoden |first8=H |last9=Raj |first9=S|last10=Francis|first10=P A |last11=Pandey |first11=P C |date=2021-01-22 |title=Observed rainfall changes in the past century (1901–2019) over the wettest place on Earth |journal=Environmental Research Letters |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=024018 |doi=10.1088/1748-9326/abcf78 |bibcode=2021ERL....16b4018K |issn=1748-9326 |doi-access=free}} Mawsynram receives over {{convert|10,000|mm|in|-1|disp=or}} of rain in an average year, and the vast majority of the rain it gets falls during the monsoon months. A comparison of rainfalls for Cherrapunji and Mawsynram for some years is given in Table 1.The Tribune, Chandigarh, August 2003. {{full citation needed|date=September 2018}}

Mawsynram receives the highest rainfall in India. Although it is reportedly the wettest place on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of {{convert|11,872|mm|in|1}}, this claim is disputed by Lloró, Colombia, which reported an average yearly rainfall of {{convert|12,717|mm|in|1}} between 1952 and 1989 and López de Micay, also in Colombia, which reported {{convert|12,892|mm|in|1}} per year between 1960 and 2012. According to the records observed by the Indian Meteorological Department, it was seen that while its neighbour, Cherrapunji is having a significant decreasing trend in rainfall, Mawsynram on the other hand is experiencing a slight increase in its rainfall pattern which put its average annual rainfall from 1950 to 2000 at {{convert|12393|mm|in|1}} and from 2000 to 2020 at {{convert|12120|mm|in|1}}. The precipitation table below shows the average monthly record from 1950 to 2000.

{{weather box

| metric first = yes

| single line = yes

| location = Mawsynram

| Jan high C = 15.5

| Feb high C = 16.8

| Mar high C = 20.7

| Apr high C = 22.1

| May high C = 22.5

| Jun high C = 22.3

| Jul high C = 22.4

| Aug high C = 22.9

| Sep high C = 22.8

| Oct high C = 22.0

| Nov high C = 19.2

| Dec high C = 16.6

| Jan mean C = 11.2

| Feb mean C = 12.8

| Mar mean C = 16.5

| Apr mean C = 18.4

| May mean C = 19.2

| Jun mean C = 19.9

| Jul mean C = 20.2

| Aug mean C = 20.4

| Sep mean C = 20.3

| Oct mean C = 18.6

| Nov mean C = 15.2

| Dec mean C = 12.3

| Jan low C = 6.9

| Feb low C = 8.8

| Mar low C = 12.3

| Apr low C = 14.7

| May low C = 15.9

| Jun low C = 17.5

| Jul low C = 18.0

| Aug low C = 18.0

| Sep low C = 17.8

| Oct low C = 15.3

| Nov low C = 11.2

| Dec low C = 8.0

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation mm = 19

| Feb precipitation mm = 25

| Mar precipitation mm = 198

| Apr precipitation mm = 490

| May precipitation mm = 1436

| Jun precipitation mm = 3162

| Jul precipitation mm = 3300

| Aug precipitation mm = 2330

| Sep precipitation mm = 1050

| Oct precipitation mm = 331

| Nov precipitation mm = 48

| Dec precipitation mm = 4

| year precipitation mm = 12393

| source = {{cite web |url=https://en.climate-data.org/asia/india/meghalaya/mawsynram-555127/ |title=Mawsynram climate |publisher=Climate-data.org |access-date=March 3, 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328042958/https://en.climate-data.org/asia/india/meghalaya/mawsynram-555127/ |url-status=live }}(year rain)

}}

Primarily due to the high altitude, it seldom gets truly hot in Mawsynram. Average monthly temperatures range from around {{convert|11|°C|°F|1}} in January to just above {{convert|20|°C|°F}} in August. The village also experiences a brief but noticeably drier season from December until February, when monthly precipitation on average does not exceed {{convert|30|mm|in}}. The little precipitation during the village's "low sun" season is something that is shared by many areas with this type of climate.

The following table is a comparison of rainfalls for Cherrapunji and Mawsynram between 1970 and 2010.

Source:[http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1975.pdf Handbook 1975] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105071233/http://www.megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1975.pdf |date=5 November 2018 }} megplanning.gov.in{{Cite web |date=1978 |title=Statistical Handbook |url=http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1978.pdf |website=megplanning.gov.in |access-date=19 April 2016 |archive-date=5 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105073042/http://www.megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1978.pdf |url-status=live }}

[http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1984.pdf Handbook 1984] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105073254/http://www.megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1984.pdf |date=5 November 2018 }} megplanning.gov.in[http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1987.pdf Handbook 1987] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105071242/http://www.megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1987.pdf |date=5 November 2018 }} megplanning.gov.in[http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1995.pdf Handbook 1995] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105071304/http://www.megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1995.pdf |date=5 November 2018 }} megplanning.gov.in[http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1998.pdf Handbook 1998] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105073326/http://www.megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1998.pdf |date=5 November 2018 }} megplanning.gov.in[http://megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1992.pdf Handbook 1992] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105071247/http://www.megplanning.gov.in/handbook/1992.pdf |date=5 November 2018 }} megplanning.gov.in[http://www.megplanning.gov.in/handbook/2008.pdf Handbook 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105071325/http://www.megplanning.gov.in/handbook/2008.pdf |date=5 November 2018 }} megplanning.gov.in{{cite web |url=http://www.cherrapunjee.com/weather-info/rainfall-chart/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611115953/http://www.cherrapunjee.com/weather-info/rainfall-chart/ |archive-date=11 June 2015 |title=Rainfall Chart {{!}} Cherrapunjee}}

File:Nature made Shivalinga in Mawjymbuin Cave Mawsynram Meghalaya India.jpg

Three reasons can be cited for high rainfall at Mawsynram:{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}}

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|date=April 2016}}
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|date=April 2016}}
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|date=April 2016}}

Located in Mawsynram, is a cave named Mawjymbuin, known for its stalagmites.{{cite web |title=Khasi Hills: Mawsynram |work=Department of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya |url=http://megtourism.gov.in/dest-khasi.html |access-date=2014-08-23 |archive-date=8 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808001426/http://www.megtourism.gov.in/dest-khasi.html |url-status=dead }} Inside this cave is a pair of notable speleothems - stalactites shaped like a cow's udder over a large stalagmite (Shivling). The area is known for its many caves, both commercialized and non-commercialized.

{{reflist}}

• Middleton, Nick. Going to Extremes. Pan, 2012.

• [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030824/main8.htm The Tribune (India) - The dispute between Mawsynram and Cherrapunji for the title of "wettest place on earth"]

Category:Villages in East Khasi Hills district

Category:Weather extremes of Earth

Category:Geography of Meghalaya