THE WORLD'S WETTEST PLACE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 000484

DEPT FOR OES/PCI, OES/ENRC, SCA/INS, SCA/RA
USAID FOR ANE/SAA
EPA FOR OIA FREEMAN
USDA FOR ARS, FS, AND APHIS
STATE PASS TO NSF

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV TBIO XD NP
SUBJECT: THE WORLD'S WETTEST PLACE

SUMMARY
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1. On location at the world's wettest place in Cherrapunjee, in the
Indian state of Meghalaya, the South Asia Regional Environment
Officer (REO) found a modest trend towards more erratic rainfall
patterns since the 1960s. Over the past winter the area went
without rain for five months and with little capacity to store
water, Meghalaya plateau actually experienced a water shortage. The
hills of Meghalaya have become prime date collection points in the
study of climate change.

12,000 MILLIMETERS OF RAIN
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2. The Meghalaya plateau provides a unique platform to study
changing atmospheric conditions and climate. It rises to 1900
meters above sea level in northeastern India. During the monsoon,
clouds heavily laden with moisture from the Bay of Bengal batter
into the plateau's steep southern escarpment sending rainwater
cascading down to the flood plains of northeastern Bangladesh. At
the plateau's edge, the village of Cherrapunjee reports the world's
highest average annual rainfall of 12,000 millimeters (mm).


3. Rainfall has been measured at Cherrapunjee since 1903 and has
shown considerable variation. The lowest annual rainfall of 6,283
mm was recorded in 1951; the highest of 23,663 mm (or about 80 feet
of rain) was recorded in 1974. Since the mid-1960s, the pattern of
rainfall has been 10 to 15 percent more erratic than pre-1960
levels, a finding that specialists are linking with climate change.


NORTH EASTERN HILL UNIVERSITY
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4. The area's extraordinary precipitation makes it an invaluable
place to study climate change. The North Eastern Hill University,
based nearby in the Meghalaya capital of Shillong, is engaged in a
new program to understand how climate change is affecting monsoon
patterns in South Asia. The University has set up a series of
automatic weather monitoring stations and rainfall recording
instruments that provide hourly readings throughout the year.
During a May 20-21 visit to Meghalaya, REO was offered a vast
compendium of three years of raw water data that is available to
climate researchers.


5. The North Eastern Hill University professors reported that for
the first time since rainfall records had been kept, the
Cherrapunjee hills had received no rain from mid-November to
mid-March. As a consequence of the winter water shortage and heavy
May rains, the area's temperate crops including peaches, pears and
plums, were spoiled. Meghalaya's Department of Agriculture is
concerned that climate change is affecting agricultural patterns,
but has not established a climate cell to research adaptation
practices on a scientific basis.


6. Building on its location and growing expertise on climate issues,
the North Eastern Hill University is organizing a number of
environmental conferences. These include a series of workshops in
September and October to identify how climate change will affect
payments for environmental services. The workshops will be
organized in partnership with Oxford and Liverpool Universities. In
November, the University will host a conference, supported by the
United Nations University, on food production in mountain areas.

WASHING POLLUTION DOWNSTREAM
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7. Cherrapunjee's thin topsoil contributes to the rapid runoff that
inundates the Bangladesh plain. With little capacity on the plateau
to store water, rainwater is washed downstream carrying local
pollutants to Bangladesh. Erosion exacerbated by slash and burn
agricultural practices, still in use by tribal people, takes away
much needed soil, and unregulated strip mining of coal and limestone
has rendered many rivers unsafe for human consumption. Because

KATHMANDU 00000484 002 OF 002


tribal people have extensive rights over land including mineral
rights in Meghalaya, the state has little say in how the forests are
managed. Only 6 percent of the state's forested lands falls under
the jurisdiction of the State Forest Department.

COMMENT
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8. Changes in rainfall patterns in the world's wettest place can
potentially contribute to our understanding of how climate change is
affecting the South Asian monsoon. The importance of this research
is clear when we are reminded that the livelihoods of 500 million
people in the Gangetic plain depend on the annual monsoon.


9. This cable has been cleared by Consulate General Kolkata.

POWELL