Kerala has already crossed the 2,000-mm rainfall mark during the current southwest monsoon season with rainfall activity over the region continuing to be brisk. And there is still more than a week left before the season formally closes.
This is the third consecutive year that the State is surpassing the 2,000 mm mark during the southwest monsoon, which accounts for 70% of annual rainfall. In 2018 and 2019 also, Kerala recorded SW monsoon rainfall in excess of 2,300 mm for the entire season.
This year, the southwest monsoon officially set in over Kerala on June 1. India Meteorological Department (IMD) data shows that by September 19, Kerala recorded 2,055.5 mm of rainfall as against 1947.5 mm, the normal for the June 1-September 19 period.
During the same period in 2019, Kerala recorded 2,213.1 mm rainfall (14% excess) and in 2018, 2,349.1 mm (25% excess). In 2016 and 2017, the rainfall for the June 1-September 19 period had stood at 1,767.5 mm (-5%) and 1,317.3 mm (-32%).
So far during the 2020 southwest monsoon, Thiruvananthapuram district recorded 33% excess rainfall, and Kozhikode, 30%. Kottayam and Kannur each recorded 24% excess. All the other districts reported normal rainfall, except for Wayanad which reported deficiency. (Departure in rainfall between -19% and +19% is deemed ‘normal’ in IMD parlance).
Kerala recorded intense spells during the southwest monsoon seasons in 2018 and 2019, which triggered devastating floods and landslips in many districts. Overall for the southwest monsoon season in 2018, Kerala recorded 2,515.73 mm—23.34% in excess of the normal—between June 1 and September 30. In 2019, when the monsoon onset was on June 8, the State recorded 2,309.8 mm till September 30. In 2017, the monsoon was weak in Kerala.
