Skymet Weather has often tried to draw attention towards rapid change in global weather and the extreme weather phenomenon due to which droughts in India are one serious issue that hasn’t been dealt with enough seriousness. Here’s a situation that has become a cause for concern to the Forest Department in Mudumalai. Unprecedented drought is keeping the Forest Department officials on their toes in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve as a dry and awful March plays havoc.
Records at Skymet weather show that though the area near the Nilgris often receives rainfall above or near normal, certain pockets still stay affected during the dry months. In 2009, Coimbatore received 98mm of rainfall, which was 304% above normal, while the normal rainfall figure of the area is 30mm in the month of March. But this year, forest department confirms that practically the entire reserve extending to over 321 square kilometres has been wearing a parched look.
Environmentalists and Forest Department officials further add that temperatures in the higher thirties and dry conditions with not even a single drop of rain could even trigger an outbreak of bushfires. “I am seeing the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in such a state for the first time plus the migration of animals in search of water and fresh vegetation has begun”, says Conservationist P.J.Vasanthan. He also pointed out that some of the animals he saw were conspicuously emaciated. Many animals from the Moyar part of the reserve are coming to the channel to quench their thirst, which flows from Maravakandy to the Moyar Dam.
The prevailing weather conditions have made the surroundings extremely dry and leafless. Since the situation in the Sigur and Gudalur forests adjoining the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve was also equally bad, the human-wild animal conflict has escalated and instances of elephants damaging houses are being frequently reported.
Environmentalists lament that this year, even perennial water sources have dried up. In view of the prevailing situation, a plan of action to deal with any exigency has been put in place. Officials, including 100 fire watchers, have been instructed since the fringe areas along the road which cuts through the reserve are highly vulnerable to bushfires. Water tankers have also been stationed at convenient places in a bid to provide water to quench the thirst of wildlife during summer.
On the other hand, the same efforts are being taken in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in the Pollachi Range by filling up the water troughs by up to 20,000 litres. This step would also prevent wildlife from straying into human habitations in search of water.
Mahesh Palawat, Head of the weather forecasting team at Skymet says, “this is just the beginning of the dry season, April and May could be much more brutal to animal life if preventive measures are not taken on time and if the concept of weather is not ingrained in society.”
