Shivali perfoming at Akkary Kottiyoor in Kannur as part of the ongoing Vyshaka Maholsavam;
| Photo Credit: S.K. MOHAN
The skies over the ghat region along the eastern side of Kerala opened up suddenly on Wednesday and Thursday, catching the weather agencies off guard, with heavy rain lashing the high-range areas, inundating the streets and crippling normal life. Around two dozen rain gauge stations established by the State government in the ghat regions recorded rain in the range of 200 mm to 300 mm (extreme heavy rainfall) during the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Thursday.
On the other hand, only one automatic weather station under the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 240 mm of rain at Lower Sholayar during the same 24-hour period. Experts have raised doubts over reports of over 300 mm of rain recorded by the State’s rain gauges as many of them are non-standard rain gauges. Meanwhile, in high-ranges, especially in Wayanad or Thrissur, the situation was equivalent to a red alert, with extremely heavy rain lashing the region, they said.
They also said although the IMD has around 116 automatic weather stations (AWS) and 30 automatic rain gauges (ARG), data from around 75 AWSs and 10 ARGs are reliable, said weather scientists. The IMD had issued a yellow alert across the State on Wednesday and upgraded it to an orange alert by noon.
According to Neetha K. Gopal, IMD Director, Thiruvananthapuram, the sudden strengthening of westerlies influenced by the low pressure area over the northwest Bay of Bengal and the formation of a shear zone of monsoon turbulence enhanced the active monsoon conditions. The activation of a shear zone with a southward tilt with opposing winds at a specified altitude, along with rain-bearing systems playing around and the orographic lifting of clouds supported by the Western Ghats, caused heavy rains.
The CIMSS (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies) model also showed offshore vortices at 5.8 km on June 24, although the IMD has yet to confirm it. The offshore vortices were suspected to be the main factor for the torrential rain that triggered the disastrous landslide in Wayanad last year. With the active monsoon conditions prevailing, the IMD has issued an orange alert for five districts — Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, and Wayanad — on Friday (June 27, 2025), warning of very heavy rains and a yellow alert warning of isolated heavy rains for the remaining districts.
Published – June 26, 2025 08:10 pm IST
