Unseasonal rain, pest attack hits cashew yield in Nagapattinam district
Cashew is cultivated on over 5,000 acres in the district, with major cultivation being in Vedaranyam and Keezhaiyur. Farmers say the impact had been particularly distressing as the region had only recently begun to recover from the extensive damage caused by Cyclone Gaja in 2018.
'After Cyclone Gaja, it took us years to revive cashew plantations. In the past few years, yields had started to improve. But this year, unseasonal rainfall combined with pest attacks has hit us hard,' said S. Mohan, a farmer from Vettaikaraniruppu. 'The flowers, fruits, and even leaves are turning black, and despite applying fertilisers, nearly half the yield has been lost,' he added.
According to farmers, cashew fruits are fetching ₹20 to ₹25 a kg while cashew nuts are being sold at ₹110 to ₹120 a kg. 'Market prices are fair this year, but the reduced volume means farmers are unable to benefit,' said Mr. Mohan.
Officials from the Horticulture Department in Nagapattinam acknowledged the situation. 'We have been advising farmers on timely application of fertilisers and other preventive measures. However, the unseasonal rains have compounded the issue, making pest management more difficult,' an official said.
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Time of India
07-07-2025
- Time of India
Himachal Pradesh monsoon toll at 78; flash floods hit Mandi; 4 Chamba panchayats cut off
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New Indian Express
20-06-2025
- New Indian Express
Kerala's monsoon miseries: Unchecked growth and land abuse to blame
It has been raining heavily in Kerala since the second week of June. Rivers have been overflowing, low-lying areas have been inundated and normal life has been thrown out of gear. Going by the weather forecasts, the south-west monsoon, which arrived a little early on May 23, will gather momentum in the coming days. People are hugely worried about impending flooding and landslides. There was a time when Kerala eagerly awaited the arrival of the monsoon because it provided a big relief from the scorching summer and replenished the water table. But rain became a nightmare almost a decade ago. People's worries were compounded after the 2018 floods and the 2024 Wayanad landslides. How did this transformation happen? We asked this question to Kerala's prominent environmental activist SP Ravi and disaster management expert KG Thara. They said the scale of flood disasters in Kerala is no longer driven by rainfall alone, but by decades of unchecked development and widespread land use changes across the Western Ghats, midlands, and coastal zones. Ravi pointed out that widespread reclamation of paddy fields has significantly reduced the land's natural capacity to absorb rainwater. 'These reclaimed fields, which once acted as crucial water buffers, now channel excess rain directly into rivers, causing them to swell rapidly and increasing the risk of flooding,' he said. In 1971, Kerala had 8.75 lakh hectares of paddy fields. It has now shrunken to two lakh hectares. Ravi said Kerala's monsoon pattern has been shifting since the beginning of the millennium, but the changes went largely unnoticed. He cited successive droughts in 2003 and 2004 and extreme rainfall in 2007, 2013 and 2018 as pointers to a shift in the monsoon's behaviour. Since 2016, anomalies have become more frequent and severe, he said. 'That year saw the lowest rainfall in over a century, while Cyclone Ockhi in late 2017 shattered the long-standing belief that Kerala is safe from cyclonic impacts. Then came the catastrophic floods of 2018, affecting 12 out of 14 districts, followed by Cyclone Gaja, which originated in the Bay of Bengal and crossed the Western Ghats to impact Kerala,' he said. After the devastating floods of 2018, Kerala saw repeat floods in 2019, with northern districts like Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram suffering even worse devastation. 'Unlike the steady build-up of rains in 2018, 2019 saw a sharp turnaround. By late July, rainfall was 35% deficient, but this gap was erased in just a week of torrential downpours between August 6 and 13,' he said. Importance of urban planning Thara, who headed the state's Disaster Management Centre, blamed Kerala's urban planning failures for the increase in natural disasters. 'Kerala witnessed an 11.13% rise in built-up area in 2023, marking the highest building density per square kilometre in the past eight years. Tourist hotspots like Munnar, which saw nearly 17 lakh tourist influx recently, are facing immense pressure on their fragile ecosystems,' she said. Despite initiating studies on carrying capacity in ecologically sensitive regions like Munnar, recent policy changes raise concerns over sustainable development. 'In 2023, the Kerala Land Assignment Act of the 1960s was amended to empower the government to regularise illegal constructions. As a result, 226 unauthorised buildings in Munnar were legalised, undermining conservation efforts and raising alarm among environmentalists,' Thara said. She explained that Kerala's varied topography makes it highly vulnerable to landslides. 'Around 35% of the state lies at elevations below 50 metres, while 25% is situated above 500 metres. The remaining 40%, falling between 50 to 500 metres, is particularly prone to moderate to high-intensity landslides, raising concerns amid changing rainfall patterns and land-use practices.' Experts said the damage along national highways in Kerala is a clear case of a man-made disaster. Despite repeated warnings from locals about the region's vulnerability, such as landslide-prone slopes and disrupted river flows, construction went ahead, ignoring concerns. 'The disconnect between ground realities and expert decisions underscores the importance of public participation in planning. It's exactly what Madhav Gadgil emphasised in his report -- micro-zonation and demarcation of eco-sensitive zones in consultation with local bodies. Unfortunately, his recommendations were misrepresented as anti-development, leading to opposition. In hindsight, had his guidelines been followed, the environmental damage we see today could have been far less severe,' she said. The setting up of major infrastructure in ecologically sensitive areas, such as the Cochin International Airport on the floodplains of the Periyar River, has compounded the risks. 'Highway construction, especially NH66, has altered natural drainage, leaving many homes inundated each year,' Ravi said. Diminishing forest cover Ravi said Kerala, which had nearly 60% forest cover two centuries ago, now has less than 15% natural forest. 'Despite the forest department controlling over a quarter of the state's land, much of it is degraded or replaced by monoculture plantations, which no longer function as natural rain absorbers. In the past, evergreen forests and grasslands slowed the flow of rainwater, allowing it to percolate through the soil gradually. Today, with much of the Western Ghats denuded, rainfall rapidly turns into surface runoff, greatly increasing flood volumes and impacts, especially in vulnerable regions,' he said. 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Importance of Gadgil report The recommendations of the Madhav Gadgil Committee on Western Ghats conservation have been progressively diluted by successive governments. The Kasturirangan Committee, set up later, reduced the eco-sensitive zones from over 90% to around 35–40%, relying heavily on satellite imagery with minimal field verification. This led to serious mismatches. Areas like rubber plantations were wrongly classified as eco-sensitive, while ecologically critical natural forests were excluded. 'A further review by Kasturirangan diluted the report even more, resulting in only a small fraction of the Western Ghats now falling under protected zones, far from the ecological reality. Experts now call for micro-level mapping with active local participation, arguing that community insights are vital for accurate ecological classification,' Dr Thara said. What needs to be done? Experts stressed the urgent need for a Kerala-specific land use policy and micro-level disaster zonation, grounded in public participation and traditional wisdom. They argue that developmental models from foreign nations or other Indian states cannot be blindly replicated in Kerala, given the state's unique ecological vulnerabilities. 'Despite Kerala's exposure to multiple natural hazards, the state lacks a comprehensive building strategy tailored for vulnerable areas. While there are codal provisions for cyclones, earthquakes, and floods individually, there is no integrated, multi-hazard-resistant building code. This gap is not unique to Kerala, but a nationwide challenge in disaster management. Sustainable growth must be rooted in local realities,' Dr Thara said. She also emphasised the importance of Kerala-specific land-use planning and micro-level disaster zonation and added that, 'We can't blindly adopt international models. What works in Norway or the US won't necessarily work in our ecologically fragile terrain. We must integrate traditional wisdom and local participation into development plans.' 'Disasters will occur,' said Thara. 'But the real tragedy is when we fail to learn from them.'
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Time of India
Assam towns sweat it out as ‘feels-like' temp crosses 50 degrees Celsius
Guwahati: Even as the state is yet to fully recover from the first wave of floods caused by monsoon rains, high humidity and rising temperatures made life miserable in Assam's towns and cities, with 'feels-like' temperatures in various parts of the state exceeding 50 degrees Celsius. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)-endorsed heat index warning chart, the 'feels-like' temperature in Guwahati reached 55 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. In the upper Assam town of North Lakhimpur, which recorded the state's highest maximum temperature on Tuesday, the 'feels-like' temperature approached 58 degrees Celsius as per the heat index. On Tuesday, the maximum temperature in Guwahati rose to 37.3 degrees Celsius. However, due to 63 per cent humidity, the 'feels-like' temperature was approximately 55 degrees Celsius according to the heat index chart. North Lakhimpur experienced a maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius. Considering the 69 per cent humidity in Lakhimpur during the afternoon, the 'feels-like' temperature increased close to 60 degrees Celsius. Dibrugarh's maximum temperature was 37.7 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, but the 'feels-like' temperature was around 57 degrees Celsius based on the heat index warning chart and 66 percent humidity. In the Barak Valley region of South Assam, which remained severely affected by the current floods and housed several hundred people in relief camps, the scorching summer added to the difficulties. On Tuesday, the 'feels-like' temperature in Silchar, when the sun was high, was about 55 degrees Celsius, with a recorded maximum temperature of 37 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 67 per cent in the afternoon. All these towns and cities in the state were in the red-marked category of the heat index chart. According to Met officials, areas in the red category face "extreme danger," and heat stroke is likely if precautionary measures are not taken. "The feels-like temperature is very hot and very uncomfortable in Assam, though actual maximum temperature is not that high. High humidity is the reason behind such uncomfortably high feels-like temperature. Heat stroke may happen for people who are not healthy if we go by the heat index warning chart endorsed by WMO," said Mohan. Met officials stated that the departure in maximum temperature from normal levels had been significant in the state due to a lack of cloud cover over the past few days. On Tuesday, according to the IMD's weather bulletin, the increase above normal maximum temperature was as high as 6.2 degrees Celsius in Dibrugarh and North Lakhimpur, 5.9 degrees Celsius in Tezpur, and 5 degrees Celsius each in Silchar and Jorhat. The Regional Meteorological Centre of the IMD issued a bulletin stating that light to moderate rain is very likely to occur in several areas of Assam on Wednesday, but no significant change in maximum temperature is expected.
