Marked by a late spell of wet weather, the southwest monsoon season has drawn to a close over Kerala, with the State registering normal rainfall during the period.
The State as a whole received 1,804.6 mm of rainfall against a normal of 2,005.8 mm, registering a percentage departure of -10%. All but one district have received normal rainfall (-19% to + 19%). Wayanad, however, has a deficiency of 37%.
The four-month period from June 1 to September 30 is taken as the southwest monsoon season in the State, with the next three months accounting for the northeast monsoon rainfall.
Monsoon revival
The revival of the monsoon towards the fag end helped bring down the rainfall deficit that had crept up to 27% by the first half of August, forcing the government to launch a Statewide campaign for water conservation.
Last year, Kerala was left with a 34% rainfall deficit during the southwest monsoon, signalling drought conditions that aggravated with the failure of the northeast monsoon. This year however, the State has reason to feel upbeat.
According to the operational forecast for the northeast monsoon issued by the India Met Department on Tuesday, Kerala, along with other parts of the southern peninsula, is most likely to receive normal rainfall (89% to 111% of the long-period average).
The peninsular region, including Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, and south interior Karnataka receives about 30% of the annual rainfall during the period from October to December.