The Hindu Business Line : North-east monsoon signs off

The overall deficit for Kerala this year has toted up to minus 27 per cent, which compares poorly with the previous `rain year' (minus 16 per cent).

ADIEU, RAIN GODS! The clear skies over Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday signalled the withdrawal of the northeast monsoon from the State. - K.G. Santhosh

Thiruvananthapuram , Jan. 8

THE Met Office has officially declared that North-east monsoon 2003 has drawn to a close in the five southern States as on the morning of Thursday.

The Director of the Thiruvananthapuram Met Office, Mr M. D. Ramachandran, told Business Line that the official declaration of the withdrawal was delayed by a week thanks to the presence of a low-intensity circulation over the Pampan area in Tamil Nadu during the last few days.

This circulation had led to light rain episodes in and around the Pampan area. Even Ernakulam in Kerala experienced some rain on Tuesday under its influence. The Met Office would not have called curtains on the season while this circulation was seen as being "alive", although with not much consequence.

Otherwise, the North-east monsoon account was treated "as good as closed" by the end of December, which marked the beginning a consistent dry spell in Kerala that has continued to hold, Mr Ramachandran said. During the last year, the system was considered as having withdrawn from December 27, more or less coinciding with the normal. As already reported by Business Line, Kerala recorded a shortfall of 5 per cent in precipitation during the North-east monsoon season this year. This came on the top of a second successive failure (minus 26 per cent) of the southwest monsoon earlier during the year.

In the end, the overall (both monsoon seasons combined) deficit for Kerala this year has toted up to minus 27 per cent, which compares poorly with the previous "rain year" (minus 16 per cent), even when the southwest monsoon had left behind a bigger deficit.

The improved performance that year was made possible largely by a bountiful North-east monsoon (plus 32 per cent), which made amends for the hugely erratic (minus 35 per cent) southwest monsoon that preceded it.

In a related communiqué, the Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai said the North-east monsoon rains have ceased over Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, adjoining areas of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Sengottai in Tamil Nadu recorded 3 cm rain during the 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Thursday.

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