A Land Without a Sponge
Cherrapunji, locally known as Sohra, sits on a plateau in the Khasi Hills and holds records for the most rainfall in a calendar month and year. It receives an average of 11,777 millimeters of rain annually. This immense precipitation is the result of monsoon clouds from the Bay of Bengal rising over the Khasi Hills, a process known as orographic lift. The region faces severe water shortages, especially during the dry winter months from November to March. Some residents get water for only a few hours a day and must buy it from private tankers.
The problem is geological and ecological. The plateau is composed of porous limestone and sandstone. Whatever water is not immediately lost as surface runoff drains quickly into subterranean channels. More critically, the landscape has been stripped of its topsoil. Centuries of deforestation have left the ground with little capacity to absorb and retain the monsoon rains. The soil that remains is shallow and acidic in essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. During a heavy downpour, rainwater sheets across the exposed bedrock and compacted earth, flowing immediately into deep gorges and down to the plains of Bangladesh.