Kochi: Cast the ballot early on as weather may play truant

Kochi: Political leaders and workers hope that the weather gods will not play spoilsport on the polling day on Tuesday though the IMD has forecast thundershowers and storm. They have devised a strategy to bring as many voters as possible to the booths in the forenoon itself fearing inclement weather in the afternoon.

“We plan to bring women, elderly, sick and differently-abled to the booths early before lighting and thundershowers strike in the afternoon. We have arranged vehicles to help anybody in need. Moreover, the Election Commission has made arrangements in Ernakulam for the transport of dfferently-abled. We cannot allow the poll percentage to go down due to such factors,” said P. Ajas, a party worker in Ernakulam. The polling will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted light to moderate rainfall in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki and Palakkad districts on Tuesday. According to IMD, all the above districts are likely to receive 2.5 mm to 64.4 mm rainfall.     

 ...fearing inclement weather in the afternoon.

“We plan to bring women, elderly, sick and differently-abled to the booths early before lighting and thundershowers strike in the afternoon. We have arranged vehicles to help anybody in need. Moreover, the Election Commission has made arrangements in Ernakulam for the transport of dfferently-abled. We cannot allow the poll percentage to go down due to such factors,” said P. Ajas, a party worker in Ernakulam. The polling will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted light to moderate rainfall in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki and Palakkad districts on Tuesday. According to IMD, all the above districts are likely to receive 2.5 mm to 64.4 mm rainfall.

Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur will receive light rainfall on Tuesday.  IMD has forecast thunderstorm accompanied by gusty winds (speed reaching 40-50 km per hour) and lightning at isolated places across Kerala. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has asked the people to take precautions against inclement weather, including lightning. According to weather scientists, the confluence of easterly and westerly winds in a line and discontinuing after that along with a trough of low extending from Central India to South India are causing this phase of rains in Kerala.

“Another phenomenon called Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), which is a large-scale coupling between atmospheric circulation and tropical deep atmospheric convection, also aids this rain fall. The MJO propagates eastward through the atmosphere above the warm parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans. This overall circulation pattern manifests as anomalous rainfall,” said a meteorological scientist.

“Kannur, Kasargod and Kozhikode may not witness much rain but Wayanad will have it in still higher measure while Central and Southern Kerala will have good showers,” he said. There is no high-temperature alert in the state for the day, said the IMD indicating that chances of sunstrokes are slim.