‘Global warming behind heavy Kerala rains’

Kerala, the gateway of the monsoon into the mainland of the country, has experienced heavy rains over the last few days, three weeks ahead of the arrival of South Asia’s southwesterly monsoon. According to Kerala revenue minister Adoor Prakash, 18 people have died and losses amounting to Rs 250 crore were reported across the state in heavy summer showers since April.

The crop destruction alone was around Rs 20 crore during the period. A delegation consisting of Prakash, State Revenue Secretary Satyajit Rajan and Shekhar met home minister Sushilkumar Shinde seeking an urgent Rs 110 crore interim relief.

‘A deep depression over sea is the reasons for summer rains. I cannot say whether global warming is responsible for deep depression ... However, I can say that we can link the intensified summer rains to global warming,’ Shekhar told reporters here. Shekhar, who is also an associate professor at Kerala Disaster Management Centre, said that generally the pre-monsoon showers are minimal but this year the state was witnessing unprecedented heavy summer rains.

India is expected to see below normal monsoon this year with Met department forecasting 95 per cent rainfall because of the El Nino effect, which is generally associated with the warming of ocean water.