The government has described the extreme rainfall that occurred across Tamil Nadu in October, November as a "highly localised" event which was unrelated to global warming.
"Extreme rainfall that occurred over coastal districts of Tamil Nadu is highly localised and is part of the natural variability of the Indian monsoon system. Although some studies have reported an increase in frequency and intensity of extremes in rainfall during the past 40-50 years, their attribution to global warming is not established," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
The minister said that the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and assessment methodology used in India have indicated that extreme rainfall events are likely to be more frequent in the later part of the 21st century.
Javadekar also pointed out that during northeast monsoon, October-December is the prime period when Tamil Nadu and Puducherry get rain, adding that in November, three large weather systems affected the region causing extensive rainfall.
Unprecedented rain wreaked havoc across Tamil Nadu with state capital Chennai and Puducherry witnessing large scale devastation.
Nearly 300 people were killed across the state in rain related incidents. Assocham had earlier said that the financial losses from the torrential rains and floods in Tamil Nadu might exceed Rs 15,000 crore. Automobile and IT industry were affected the most.
