Northern India is currently in the midst of an extremely wet phase of the monsoon. July rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh is substantially higher than normal. Heavy rain has resulted in large-scale destruction and loss of lives, particularly in the hilly areas.

The monsoon season this year was not expected to be very wet. The start certainly wasn’t that great, and notwithstanding the reassuring predictions of a normal monsoon by India Meteorological Department, rains were expected to be suppressed by a developing El Nino.