A month since the onset of the southwest monsoon, Kerala has received 91% of the normal rainfall, but left Wayanad with a staggering deficit of 49%, threatening to slash the output of coffee, tea and spices.
A rainfall deficit in Idukki has also left the State’s hydroelectric potential in a precarious position, with the storage level in reservoirs showing little sign of improvement.
The cumulative rainfall data released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows that Kollam district received the maximum surplus rainfall of 19.33% since June 1, while the other districts registered normal rainfall. In meteorological terms, -20% to +20% of normal is classified as normal, more than 20% of normal is classified as excess and less than 40% of normal is scanty rainfall.
The State as a whole received 564.15 mm of rainfall against a normal of 619.2 mm, registering a shortfall of 8.89% over the 29 days. Kollam received 528.73 mm against a normal of 443.1 mm. Wayanad, the only district with scanty rainfall, received 333.7 mm against a normal of 650.6 mm. Industry sources estimate coffee production in Wayanad to decline up to 20% due to the scanty rain. Thousands of pepper farmers are also bracing for a poor harvest this season.
Idukki, the district that produces the major chunk of the State’s hydroelectric power, registered a deficit rainfall of 18.45%.
As per the system statistics released by the State Load Despatch Centre, the total water storage in the 16 hydroelectric reservoirs in Kerala stood at 19% of the capacity on Friday, enough to generate just 768.272 million units of electricity.
Last year, the hydroelectric dams in the State had enough water to generate 1116.02 mu. The situation was better in 2015 (1663.67 mu) but worse in 2014 (725.158 mu), a drought year.
The Idukki reservoir, the largest one in the State with a storage capacity of 1,460 million cubic metres, was left with only 257.7 mcm on Friday.
Meanwhile, the current spell of the monsoon that had brought good rain to most parts of the State is forecast to taper off over the next five days. According to a weather bulletin issued by IMD, the rain is expected to be fairly widespread till Sunday and scattered for the next two days.
