Kerala once again is in the throes of flooding and landslips triggered by extreme rainfall events which often lead to loss of lives and damage to property. As the resurgent rain has brought back memories of the worst floods in Kerala, P.S. Biju, a climate scientist of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Thiruvananthapuram, who won the best scientist award in atmospheric science in 2022 instituted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, speaks about the challenges faced by the State. Excerpts:
Kerala was talking about rain deficit in the past two months, which was around 50% in June and 26% on July 31. Now, hardly within three-four days, the State is talking about a situation of flash floods and landslips. Does it sound strange?
Climatology will not speak reality, but climate change is a reality. As Mark Twain said, “Climate is what we expect and weather is what we get”. Obviously, the number of severe weather incidences is on a steady increase in Kerala. The monsoon data of the last 120 years (1901-2020) clearly indicate that there has been a rise in temperature in this millennium (2000-2020) by more than 0.5 degree Celsius in all observatories in Kerala. However, the monsoon was deficient in the last 120 years in the State for only 17 years.
.jpg?w=600)
