Last year was our only experience of the supposed "Monsoon Season" in New Delhi. It was dry. Very dry. Lesa and I recall only two days last year when we had an honest downpour of rain. Both days were in August, and that was about it aside from a few scattered showers.
The Monsoon season for the Northern part of India is typically July and August. Most of the year's supply of rain is supposed to happen during these months. Well things seem to have tipped in the other direction this year. We had a little rain in July, but since the second half of August it has rained almost every day.Long downpours. Sometimes what I would call torrential rains... And it is still raining as I write this. In fact it is the wettest year on record in India since 1978! The season is not expected to swing to dry weather until the end of September.
I wanted to write about this because there just aren't many places in the US where it rains quite this much for such an extended period of weeks (except for maybe the Pacific NW). 
Commuters clothing gets soaked. Streets and underpasses are routinely flooded. Traffic lights fail. Motor Bikers and rickshaws hide under bridges. There are issues with power and drinking water, and mosquitoes. Dengue Fever. Commuter traffic is a muddy, soggy mess.
Lesa the kids and I have been dowsed with walls of fetid water from passing cars... and drying clothing after you wash it includes the acceptance wearing clean, but slightly damp underwear.
There is a brighter side of the Monsoon, though. Everything is beautifully green and alive. People seem more cheerful. The streets are washed clean of soot and trash, and the temperature becomes a relief. Although humid, the temperature has been about 10-15 degrees cooler (Fahrenheit) than normal. Typically 75-90 instead of 95+ degrees.
And with the noticeable drop in temperatures everyone's thoughts begin to drift towards the start of the long festival season in India... Eid, Durga Puja, Diwali, the wedding season and of course, Christmas.
2 comments:
Well, however you're taking these pictures, they're great. Perhaps it also takes an outside perspective to see these images. Are you still using the Canon PowerShot SX110 IS? If not, do tell.
Same one. It's a great little camera.
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