IMD, Thiruvananthapuram, director S Sudevan said the state has received hardly any rain since the beginning of this month.
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): An unusual dry spell coupled with the reported fall in the groundwater level in flood-hit areas of Kerala has emerged as a cause of concern.
IMD, Thiruvananthapuram, director S Sudevan said the state has received hardly any rain since the beginning of this month. Weekly rainfall for the whole of Kerala from August 30 to September 5 was a mere 7.9 mm as against 56 mm, the normal figure during the same period. Although Kerala has got 33 per cent excess rainfall in the three months of monsoon, there is a deficiency of 86 per cent in the first week of September.
“As per our extended forecast, rain would pick up only after September 17. The present dry period is unusual. Due to no rain, the temperature has also increased, mainly in southern parts of the state,’’ said Sudevan.
The IMD, however, said the dry spell was not limited to Kerala but was spread to most parts of the country, except the north-eastern region and some parts of north India. D Sivananda Pai, head of climate prediction department at IMD, said this dry spell could, in part at least, be attributed to an “evolving El Nino-like condition” in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
“The El Nino has not reached a maturity stage, but we are seeing some warming in the Pacific Ocean. This is having an indirect impact on the monsoon rainfall over India, as the moisture is being pulled out,” Pai said.
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