Kerala - Pathanamthitta   

A planetary link to the monsoon?

K. Chandrahari, Chief Geophysicist, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., Vadodara.

PATHANAMTHITTA: The monsoon will be delayed in 2010 and India will go through several drought years in the decade hence, says K. Chandrahari, Chief Geophysicist at the Wire-line Logging Technology Institute of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) at Vadodara.

Mr. Chandrahari told The Hindu here on Thursday that an astro-geophysical assessment made by him suggested a few drought years in store for India. 2011 would see a severely deficient monsoon followed by the drought years of 2013, 2015 and 2019.

He had made notable observations on the monsoon of 2009 as early as August 2007, correlating the drought years with what he described as the “heliacal phenomena of Mars and Saturn.” He had predicted an early onset of monsoon in 2009 and the rains did hit Kerala a week early this year.

“It is apparent from the rainfall data that the spell of normal monsoon with which India had been blessed in recent years can prove to be deceptive, if we are complacent about measures to deal with poor monsoon in the coming years,” Mr. Chandrahari said.

In support of the lunar influence theory, Mr. Chandrahari had quoted Mr. Srinivasan and Mr. Joshi of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences to suggest lunar influence on the oceans and water vapour as having a decisive role in deciding the rains. He said that though no single rule was sufficient to predict the monsoon, these astronomical features that characterised a deficient monsoon might prove to be a significant input for detailed scientific studies on the topic.

“The India Meteorological Department may not be interested in a study that goes beyond their accepted wisdom. But the nation may be benefited, if the responsible quarters listened to the scientific analysis presented by the geophysicist,” said Thomas P. Thomas, an academic and environmentalist here.

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