T.K. Reji Thottuvashathu, 56, a resident of Kannikkallu a village in Kumily town, the gateway to Kerala’s Thekkady in Idukki district, has been farming cardamom on four acres for the past 20 years. In the undulating hills of the Western Ghats, approximately 1,500 metre above sea level, the plantations thrived in moisture-laden air and a temperate climate. Until last year, cardamom was profitable.
In Idukki this year temperatures have reached 37°C, a change from the temperate weather the region usually experiences. Worse, the land is parched, with no rain for 120 consecutive days, which has contributed to severe drought. “Usually in the hills, we get rain every month or so,” says Thottuvashathu.
The plants, which would normally live for 10 to 15 years, flowering from July through the mild winter to the following February or March, have yellowed and wilted. The air is dry, and people remain indoors, unused to this weather.
