If anything, Kerala was the playground of the rain gods in 2021.
The year, which came to a close on Friday, will be remembered as one of the wettest for Kerala, setting new rainfall records in the southern State even as an increase in unruly weather systems over the Arabian Sea added fuel to the debate on climate-change impacts.
In 2021, the State logged its highest annual rainfall in 60 years and the sixth highest annual rainfall in the past 120 years, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The State recorded an annual rainfall of 3,610.2 mm during the 12-month period against the ‘normal’ of 2,924.7 mm, an excess of 23.4%.
There is more. The winter rainfall (January-February) and the northeast monsoon rainfall (October-December) in 2021 were the highest ever recorded in the State, while the pre-monsoon rainfall (March-May) was the sixth highest in 120 years, according to the IMD. Kerala recorded percentage departures of 409% above the normal in winter rainfall, 108% in pre-monsoon rainfall and 109% in the northeast monsoon rainfall.
On the other hand, the southwest monsoon, which contributes most of the State’s annual rainfall quota, was ‘normal’. Although the season’s rainfall (June-September) recorded a 16% deficit, percentage departures ranging between -19% and +19% are classified ‘normal’ by the IMD.
To compare, in 2018 and 2019 when the State was subjected to devastating floods and landslips, the surplus in annual rainfall had stood at 20% and 7%/ respectively. In 2020, the annual rainfall exceeded the normal by 2%.
Cyclone impact
Of the five cyclones that formed in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal in 2021, two — Tauktae in the Arabian Sea and Yaas in the Bay of Bengal — brought more rainfall to Kerala. In October, powered by a low pressure area over the Arabian Sea, torrential rainfall pounded central Kerala districts, triggering landslips in Kottayam and Idukki districts leaving several dead.
