JOIN USThe North East monsoon has had an abnormal impact in Tamil Nadu, which has recorded an excess of 43 per cent rainfall between the first of October and November.
Just two weeks after the monsoon arrived, as many as 25 of 32 districts in the state received excess rainfall, including susceptible areas like Cuddalore, Ramanathapuram and Karaikal along the coast and southern Tanjavur and Tiruvaur, according to Tuesday’s statistics from the Met centre here.
Chennai, too, recorded 59 per cent rain in excess. The rainfall in Coimbatore and coastal Erode was the most surprising as these districts usually receive few showers this season. Coimbatore recorded excess rainfall of 257 mm against its usual 1,143 mm.
“The North East monsoon will extend till the second week of November, so more rainfall is expected in the coming weeks,” a senior Met department official told Deccan Herald. The official said there was no way to tell how much rain the Coimbatore, Tiruppur, and Erode belts would receive in the coming weeks, or even in the next monsoon, as trends have been unpredictable there with excess rain.
He pointed out that, usually, south of Tamil Nadu gets more rain during the South West monsoon while northern parts receive good rain in the North East monsoon period.
Meanwhile, reservoirs in the state are brimming with water as the inflow continues to increase. Stanley reservoir in Mettur, the lifeline of delta farmers, received a high inflow on Tuesday morning with the water level reaching the 100-foot mark, 20 feet more than last year’s figure.
Similarly, the water stored in the Mullaperiyar dam stood at 137 feet on Tuesday morning for the first time this season against its permissible level of 142 feet. The water level in Parambikulam stood at 60 feet, as against its capacity of 72 feet, while it was 90 feet in Aliyar, which can store up to 120 feet of water.