An analysis of the rainfall pattern in the first two months during the South West monsoon has indicated that the rainfall had been extremely good in the hilly terrain and disappointing for those in the plains.
The rainfall figures relating to June, July and 15 days of August this year was definitely much higher than the corresponding period of the previous year. The rainfall in hills had helped in improving the storage in many of the reservoirs under the Parambikulam — Aliyar Project (PAP). Similarly, rain in Western Ghats had helped in filling Siruvani as well as Pilloor.
In the month of June 2013, total rainfall in hill areas was 5,242mm and average rainfall was 439mm and in 2012 total rainfall was 2,112mm and average rainfall was 176mm.
In July 2013, total rainfall was 2,442mm and average rainfall was 248mm and in 2012 total rainfall was 2,036mm and average rainfall was 169mm.
During the month of August during the first 15 days, total rainfall was around 950mm. After a brief lull, the district witnessed a total rainfall of 65.50mm on Tuesday and the average rainfall stood at 5.46mm.
With the rain and the resultant inflow into the PAP reservoirs remaining steady, water release from Parambikulam to Sircarpathy and from there to Thirumurthy dam via contour canal has resulted in the storage in Thirumurthy dam also going up steadily.