OOTY: With a 57 per cent deficit in rainfall the first month of the Southwest monsoon period in Nilgiris this year, water managers have begun to worry about decreasing levels in Parson’s Valley reservoir, the major drinking water source for Ooty town.
While the SW monsoon raised hopes in early June with good precipitation across the hills, it failed to keep momentum over the weeks that saw the hills recording only 79.50 mm of rains against the average rainfall of 184 mm for the month of June as per the met department data.
M. Kumaravelu, Field Officer, CPR Environmental Education Centre here, said that there were instances in the past that the SW monsoon proved to be slow starter and turned active in the later part. This year too there is chance for SW monsoon to pick by the middle of July and continue up to September.
But, this late pick-up of monsoon generally accounts for heavy downpours that would change the track of the regular agriculture activities and spur the emergence of disease causing micro-organisms, he noted.
The continuing global warming and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation factor, which is a deviation from regular pattern of winds and temperature on sea surface that will have impact on the climate and monsoon in the sub-tropical regions, could be the reasons for the delay in SW monsoon gaining momentum this year, he explained.
Meanwhile, the water level in the Parson’s Valley reservoir, the major drinking water source for Ooty town, has dipped to around 24-ft against its full capacity of 58-ft, thus worrying the water managers.
