Riding on strong tailwinds, the southwest monsoon has been active over Kerala as it prepares for a belated withdrawal from the peninsular region, driving down the rainfall deficit to the single digit mark. The rainfall deficit in Kerala stood at 9.44% on Thursday, with Wayanad still registering the highest shortfall of 37%, followed by Thiruvananthapuram with 17% and Thrissur 15%. Pathanamthitta district overcame its deficit to register 1% above normal rainfall, while Ernakulam, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Palakkad registered single digit deficit.
The wet spell towards the tail end of the monsoon season has brought relief for the State that was reeling under a heavy rainfall deficit till last month. The government had launched a spree of water conservation programmes and even contemplated cloud seeding to overcome a potential crisis triggered by the errant monsoon.
The Met Centre here has forecast heavy rainfall at one or two places in the State till Friday. The district administration in Palakkad and Kozhikode have been advised to be on the alert. Fishermen have been warned of the possibility of strong winds from the westerly direction, speed occasionally reaching 45-55 kmph along and off the Kerala coast.
Private forecaster Skymet predicts monsoon showers to continue for the next two to three days under the influence of an upper air trough extending from north coastal Andhra Pradesh to Kerala. The weather system is expected to shift eastwards and weaken thereafter, bringing down the rainfall intensity.
Weather experts feel that the vigorously wagging tail of the southwest monsoon followed by a good northeast monsoon would help Kerala wipe out its rainfall deficit. Last year, the State had a deficit of 34% during the southwest monsoon which rose to 62% during the post-monsoon period.
