Monsoon shows north-south divide

Thiruvananthapuram: Almost two months after the onset of the Southwest monsoon, a clear dichotomy has emerged in the behaviour of monsoon in the two halves of the state. While the northern states have received normall rainfall, the southern ones had woefully deficient rainfall. Fortunately for a power-deficient state, the only southern district with normal rainfall is Idukki.

Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Palakkad have received normal rainfall with Kozhikode receiving the highest rainfall. The only northern district with poor rainfall is Kasargod, which has recorded a deficiency of 36 percent.

All districts below Ernakulam, except Idukki, have suffered a serious deficiency. The capital district is the worst affected with 53 percent deficiency. Alapuzha and Kollam have deficiencies of 37 and 30 percent respectively. The state, on the whole, has a deficiency of 20 percent, which is considered near normal in meteorological jargon.

Weather experts say that strong winds along the Bay of Bengal had deflected the winds in the initial part of the monsoon. It was after July 10, nearly a month and a half after the start of the monsoon, that the southwest monsoon had caught up.