Guwahati, Aug 19: Even as Kerala unders a catastrophic flood which has claimed 370 lives so far, other parts of the nation, particularly the Northeast are experiencing a dry spell of this monsoon season, with temperatures soaring to as high as 39 degree celsius.

Meghalaya, which records the maximum rainfall annually, has measured a 43 per cent deficit till August 18, states the data released by the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati.

Assam, which was hit by non-fatal floods in June, has witnessed a dry spell since the third week of July. The rainfall deficit in the state has been measured by the RMC as 30 per cent.

In Arunachal Pradesh, the rainfall has been 46 per cent less as compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. The deficit figure for Nagaland, Tripura and Mizoram stand at 28 per cent, 23 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.

Apart from affecting the agricultural pattern of the state, the low rainfall is also a cause of concern for the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, a UNESCO world heritage.

The exosystem of the biodiversity parks, which includes swamps of wet grasslands, could survive only if the monsoon causes sufficient flooding in the national park.

NK Vasu, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Assam said the situation is not critical as sufficient amount of flooding in the park was recorded in June and early July.

The RMC has attempted to allay fears claiming that the rainfall will bounce back in the coming days. The monsoon period in the region is measured between June 1-September 30. With 40 days remaining for the season to end, it would be erroneous to conclude that rainfall has been below normal, said an expert association with the RMC.

Due to the deficit rainfall, the temperature is increasing with North Lakhimpur in Upper Assam recording 38.9 degree celsius on Saturday, which is sex degrees celsius above normal.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2018 04:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).