The below normal monsoon has kept the State on tenterhooks forcing the State agencies to be ready with contingency plans.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has conducted a first round of assessment of the ground situation in the State in the wake of a weak monsoon. The agency will submit a report to the government by next week suggesting measures to mitigate the impact of drought in case the monsoon continues to be weak during the remaining period of the southwest monsoon season and subsequently during the northeast monsoon season.
According to sources, the first level criteria (threshold one) for declaring the drought is satisfactory, which is mainly based on rainfall deficit data. For declaring drought, however, an assessment of groundwater level and reservoir storage level has to be conducted. This can be done only by September as there are still 40 days left in the southwest monsoon season. Though a big spell is not anticipated during the remaining period in August and in September, an assessment during the last phase of the season would be ideal as there would be more clarity in the northeast monsoon forecast by that time, said officials.
