Annual climate summary 2020
The annual mean land surface air temperature averaged over India during 2020 was above normal. During the year, annual mean land surface air temperature averaged over the country was +0.290C above (1981-2010 period) average. The year 2020 was the eighth warmest year on record since nation-wide records commenced in 1901. However, this is substantially lower than the highest warming observed over India during 2016 (+0.710C). The monsoon and post-monsoon season with mean temperature anomalies of +0.430C and +0.510C respectively mainly contributed to this warming. Mean temperatures during the winter and pre-monsoon were near normal with anomaly of +0.140C and -0.030C respectively. The 2020 annual rainfall over the country as a whole was 110% of its Long Period Average (LPA) value for the period 1961-2010. The monsoon season rainfall over the country as a whole was 109% of its LPA. The seasonal rainfall during the Northeast monsoon season (October – December) over the NE Monsoon core region of the south peninsula was 110% of its LPA. All the five subdivisions of the core region except Kerala received excess/normal rainfall. During 2020, five cyclonic storms formed over the North Indian Ocean; Super cyclonic Storm AMPHAN, Very Severe Cyclonic Storms NIVAR & GATI, Severe Cyclonic Storm NISARG, and Cyclonic Storm ‘BUREVI’. Of these, NISARG & GATI formed over Arabian Sea, while the remaining 3 cyclones viz. AMPHAN, NIVAR & BUREVI formed over the Bay of Bengal.
