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Last year, Kerala experienced its sixth warmest year since 1901, and the onset month of the Southwest monsoon in June was the warmest in 122 years, according to a state government report.
The report — ‘Statement on climate for the state of Kerala-2022’ — released by the Institute of Climate Change Studies (ICCS), government of Kerala, noted an increase by 0.45 degree Celsius in the average annual mean land surface air temperature (1971-2020) last year over the southern state. “The warmer than normal annual mean temperatures over Kerala was mainly contributed by the warm winter season, when the average mean temperature went up by 1.02 degrees Celsius,” the report summarised.
In fact, nine of the 10 warmest years since 1901 over Kerala were recorded in the ongoing decade (2013 – 2022). The state’s average annual maximum temperature jumped by 0.41 degree Celsius while the average annual minimum temperatures saw an increase by 0.49 degree Celsius during 2022. All 14 districts of the state showed a significantly increasing trend in their maximum and mean temperatures, the ICCS report said.
Kerala, considered as one of the wettest Indian states, recorded less rainfall last year. During both the monsoon seasons — the Southwest and the Northeast — the state recorded below-normal rainfall, the report highlighted. Last year, only two of the 14 districts recorded normal or above rainfall during the June to September period. During the October to December season, only six districts received normal rainfall.
(Anjali Marar works at the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru)
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