The Wettest Place On Earth Recorded More Rainfall In 24 Hours Than London Does In A Year
Topics: Weather, World News
Joe Harker
Featured Image Credit: @US_Stormwatch/@navdeepdahiya55/twitter
Topics: Weather, World News
The wettest place in the world has just broken rainfall records by taking in the same amount of rain that falls on London in one year in just one single day.
Brits really like to complain about the weather and grumble about the amount of raindrops that keep falling on our heads.
However, there are places on Earth where the rainfall is so far beyond anything you could ever experience in the UK.
Mawsynram in India is truly the King of wet places in this world and incredible footage taken of the recent rainfalls there proves it. Take a look below:
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The video above, which was uploaded onto Reddit, shows a group of motorists driving through the region slow down and stop for what they first assume to be low clouds on the road.
However, upon closer inspection they realise that what they are looking at are not clouds but massive amounts of water lashing off a nearby waterfall that has been supercharged by the rainfall.
The recent rainfalls in Mawsynram have seen record-breaking levels of precipitation, with the Indian Express reporting that the massive rainfall in one day surpassed a record which had held since 1940.
It's part of a rainy season which has seen 39.51 inches of rain fall on the area over a 24 hour period on 17 June.
By comparison, it's almost double the amount of rain London gets in an average year, which is 23.9 inches.
Lots of people have responded to the incredible footage of the rain to explain why it is so wet in that part of the world.
Apparently, the area lends itself to something called the 'funnel effect', where monsoon winds get trapped in the valley and drop their moisture, unloading a torrent of rain on the area.
Someone else pointed out that life for people in the area was difficult and dangerous thanks to so much rain, with loss of life and livelihood a real risk for locals.
Only 15km away from Mawsynram is the second wettest place on Earth, the town of Cherrapunji.
According to meteorologists, the towns being located so close to the Bay of Bengal is a huge reason behind their mega rainfall as moisture gathers over the bay and brings on a monsoon season.
The towns occasionally have disputes over which of them truly deserves top spot in the competition to have most rainfall.
One trick the locals have to deal with the noise of the rain is soundproofing their house with grass to avoid being deafened by the torrential downpours.
If you're ever around that part of the world it's probably a good idea to bring an umbrella with you... or failing that, a towel.
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