Thiruvananthapuram: The year 2021 is history. Apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, which broke out in early 2020, Keralites will remember the year for unusually heavy rains. The weathermen say the state received the highest rainfall in 60 years in the year gone by.
Kerala also recorded the highest ever north-east monsoon rainfall in history, as per the figures of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts received the highest rainfall in the past year.
The southwestern coastal state received 3,610mm of rainfall in 2021. This is the highest rainfall recorded in 60 years. Also, it is the sixth-highest rainfall to be received in the last 120 years, the Met data suggests.
Rain continued to lash Kerala right from the beginning of the year till the third week of December. The state received 114mm of rainfall in January and February.
The summer showers from March till May were also in excess than the usual: 750.7mm.
During the south-west monsoon, which stretches from June to September, the state received 1,718mm of rainfall. This was followed by the north-east monsoon when the state received 1,026mm of rainfall from October till December. This north-east monsoon season recorded unusually surplus amount of rainfall, making it the highest rainfall during this period in the state’s history.
Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts received the highest rainfall in 2021. Pathanamthitta received 80 per cent more rainfall than the usual, while Kottayam received 60 per cent more rainfall.
Heavy rain also lashed Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts. The rain stats of 2021 point towards the changing climate patterns in Kerala.
