A meeting of scientists from various research institutions in the State held here on Friday came to the consensus that wilting of plants along the coastal belt was primarily due to an increase in salt spray from the sea.
The meeting was convened by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) after scientists from the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, and the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Kozhikode, came up with conflicting findings based on surveys to identify the reasons for the scorching wind phenomenon that had led to the wilting of plants in coastal areas of five districts.
The KFRI had reported that the phenomenon was caused by a heat burst, a rare atmospheric phenomenon characterised by a downdraft of hot, dry air which causes gusty winds, a sudden spike in temperature, and drop in humidity, mostly at night.
The CWRDM, however, suggested the theory of marine aerosols (droplets of saltwater caused by bursting bubbles at the crest of waves) carried inland by hot wind from the sea.
High waves
Scientists from the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute and the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences had also attributed the phenomenon to a rise in salt concentration in the wilted plants, caused by strong winds and high waves.
A team from the Cochin University of Science and Technology supported the heat burst theory, basing its findings on the unusual spike in night time temperature in the affected areas.
Consensus
The team, however, observed that a rise in salt concentration due to high winds could also have affected the plants. Based on subsequent discussions, the scientists present at the meeting unanimously agreed that the monsoon behaviour in Kerala was significantly different in June 2015 compared to previous years. It was felt that the wilting of plants was primarily due to increase in salt deposition on the affected plants caused by high waves of increased frequency.
Absence of data
The scientists observed that the absence of data on changes in humidity made it difficult to confirm the possibility of a heat burst. Further studies were required to see if this could also have contributed to the scorching of plants, they said.
The meeting stressed the need to install automatic weather stations along the coastal belt to monitor weather patterns associated with climate change.
Suresh Das, Director, Executive Vice President, KSCSTE; George Varghese; and Joint Director Kamalakshan Kokkal were among those present.
