KOCHI: If you think the days are hotter, when compared to the same period last year, you could be right. The weathermen also think so. The state has been experiencing unusual changes in weather, with the temperature registering one degree more compared to the same time in previous years.
Meteorologists at Kerala Agriculture University (KAU) have found that there is a variation of 0.72 to one degree centigrade rise in temperature in the last few months. "We have found that the maximum temperature has been varying by almost a degree. For example, our study found that on any given day if it was 35.5 last year in February in Thrissur, now it is 36.5, a difference of almost a degree this year, same day, same month," said B Ajithkumar, professor and head, department of agricultural meteorology, KAU.
He said that the study did a comparison of the last couple of months in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Even the nights are cooler than before.
The researchers have found that in the central districts an increase in the wind speed has led to high levels of evaporation, which, in turn, could affect the crops. "The increased evaporation rates affect the water storage capacity of the plants, leading to a stress on them," he added.
An earlier study had reported a decline in the quantity and quality of plantation crops like cashew, coconut or coffee due to the shift in rainfall from the monsoon months of June and July. This shift in monsoon has also resulted in the rise in temperature, changing Kerala's climate from 'wet' to 'dry'.
The results of the study, which is being done at KAU will be presented at the one-day seminar on climate change being organized at the Mannuthy campus on March 16.
