The State Disaster Management Authority has declared four districts drought-affected, with the monsoon months of June, July, and August bringing very little rain.
The districts declared drought affected are Wayanad, Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, and Kollam, an official press release said on Thursday. The State as a whole has received only 77 per cent of the normal monsoon rainfall so far. Rainfall was especially less in the above four districts.
Even if the month of September brings unusually high rainfall and the northeast monsoon during the October-December period is good one, it will be difficult to bridge the big gap now in these districts between rainfall actually received and the rainfall that is considered normal. The authority said the reservoirs now had only 35 per cent of full capacity storage of water.
“For that reason alone, the State is in for a serious drought during the next January-May period,” the press release said.
The biggest problem will be for the State’s power sector. Around 35 per cent of the total energy requirement in the State normally comes from hydroelectric stations, which generate power at a very low cost. If the share of hydroelectric energy in the total energy requirement goes down, electricity rates will go up steeply or the State may have to go in for power supply curbs.
