World Weather, Climate, and Society Projects |
Cochin, India Meris Esterly, Nick Falker We chose the city of Cochin, located on the southwest side of the Indian peninsula, as the focus of our weather, climate, and society project. Cochin is in the state of Kerala on the coast of the Arabian Sea, and is located approximately 150 miles from the end of the peninsula. The major geographical feature of the area is the Western Ghats, an abrupt escarpment that is about 1,500 miles long, running the length of the western side of the peninsula. The Western Ghats have a lot to do with the mechanism of the southwest monsoon, which dumps the better part of its rain on the area. The southwest monsoon arrives near the beginning of June, coming on land first in Kerala. It lasts until September and brings anywhere from 160-400cm of rain. The fickleness of the arrival of the monsoon and its intensity and duration is a common cause of irritation to Indian society which depends so much on its life-giving rains. The average temperature from June to September is approximately 21-35°C or 70-96°F. October and November are the months of the retreating northeast monsoon. This is a secondary rainy season for Kerala bringing 40-80cm of rain. The average temperature remains about the same. December to February is a dry and moderately cooler season with temperatures ranging from 25-30°C or 78-86°F. March through May is dry and hot with temperatures from 32-40°C or 90-104°F. We each individually focused on the topics of Climate Change and History, and the affects of the monsoon on Indian society in our research, which we hope you will find interesting and educational. Meris Esterly
The Monsoon affects numerous aspects of Indian Society in Cochin, Kerala The monsoon holds the power to promote or devastate India ’s economy. Indeed, India has the potential to be a lot more prosperous were it not for the fickleness of the monsoon. “Floods, drought, famine, and poverty continue to drag her down each times she seems ready to spread wings of prosperity and fly towards a brighter future full of richer harvests.” 1 Sometime from the end of May to about the second week of June the southwest monsoon will arrive, if it arrives. Its time of arrival is not very predictable, nor is its duration or intensity, all of which can have significant impacts on an agriculturally based society. When the monsoon rain clouds reach the coast of south western India, they rise so quickly over the Western Ghats, an abrupt 1,500 mile escarpment, that they lose much of their moisture in Kerala (our area of study) before blowing across the rest of the peninsula and inland.2 Approximately 67% of the population depends on agriculture for a livelihood (forestry and fishing included).3 Major crops of Cochin and the surrounding area include coconuts, rubber, and rice. According to Cochin native, Joerose Tharakan, the irregularity of the arrival of the monsoon can have significant influences on the morale of the society. When the monsoon is late the farmers have a tendency to get vexed. Despite the fact that it obviously will do no good, they often go on strike. When they do so, they incite bus drivers and students to go on strike with them. Schools are forced to shut down, and most transportation shuts down due to threats of stoning if anyone tries to go anywhere. Not only crop success is dependent on the monsoon. India is increasingly dependent on hydroelectric for its power needs. In 1995 hydroelectric facilities supplied 23% of India ’s power requirements.8 Today they supply approximately 55%. If the monsoon is late there is the possibility of power shortages. Power cutbacks occur to ration power until the monsoon comes.9
Although the monsoon is essential to some industries, it also has harmful effects. Fishing is an industry which seems to be negatively impacted by the monsoon. “Fishing is an important secondary source of income to some farmers and a primary occupation in small fishing villages.” About three-fifths of the catch is sea fish, most of which is marketed fresh or sun dried.10 After the monsoon rains many ocean and lake fish can be seen “belly-up”. It would seem the cause is pollution in the rain due to India ’s ongoing industrialization. Lakes also become eutrophicated after the monsoon rains. This is a process by which there is an increase in mineral and organic nutrients causing plant life, especially algae to proliferate, reducing the dissolved oxygen content and killing off other organisms. Flooding is another damaging effect of the monsoon. “The flow regime of India ’s rivers is strongly influenced by the monsoon climate. The advent of the monsoon rains results in an annual peak in stream flow in most rivers and streams across the subcontinent. In many cases, water levels increase dramatically and flooding is common.”11 Tourism is another industry affected by the monsoon. There are two principal tourism seasons which are determined by the timing of the monsoon. One popular time is just after the monsoon, when there are festivals of celebration which draw the tourists.
1 Wolpert, pp. 232 Bibliography Hoehner, Jane ed. Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations: Asia and Oceana, v.4 Eighth Edition. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1995 Giles, Bill. “Weather A-Z Monsoons” <http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/az/alphabet 37.shtml> ( 11 Dec. 2004 ) Vethanayagam, Anusuya. “Onam Festival” 2002. <http://wv.essortment.com/onam festival_rjjv.htm> ( 11 Dec. 2004 ). Wolpert, Stanley. India. Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991. “Too much, too little: The characteristics of water in India ” < http://www.devalt.org/water/ WaterinIndia/characteristics.htm> ( 11 Dec. 2004 ). “The Festival ( August 28 th, 2004 )” <http://www.malayalifestivals.dgreetings.com/ malayalifestivals/onam/index.html> ( 11 Dec. 2004 ).
Climate Change in India Information regarding India ’s climate dates back for thousands of years. The reason for this is that India was once ruled by the empire of Alexander the Great in 300 B.C. Alexander’s empire was one of the first western civilizations to keep environmental and meteorological records in writing. Thus, from just about the western world’s beginning, India ’s environmental records have existed in writing. However, although no written documents regarding India’s weather and climate exist prior to Alexander’s era, we can assume certain climatic conditions and changes prior to 300 B.C. due to the known history of native civilizations that previously existed. Between the years 2500 and 1700 B.C., the Indus valley in the northwest portion of today’s India fostered homes for great civilizations. Around the cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro large civilizations flourished. In order to understand why such great civilizations existed in the Indus valley during this period, it is essential to understand the climatic conditions that existed there at the time and whether or not the fall of these civilizations correlated with any climatic changes. When examined closely, it is quite evident that the Indus valley was home to great civilizations between 2500 and 1700 B.C. directly as a result of the abundance of water in the region. Furthermore, the decline of these civilizations and the absence of any such great civilizations existing shortly thereafter is a direct result of the continual lessening amounts of water for the millennium to follow. Between 2500 and 1700 B.C., the Indus valley had an annual rainfall of 400 to 800 mm. This annual rainfall was the ideal amount of water needed for this specific region to harbor great civilizations. Prior to 2500 B.C., the Indus valley was home to massive flooding periods that existed for up to a century at a time. This period, between 3500 B.C. and 3000 B.C. was known as the ‘sub-Boreal’ climatic period. (Lamb, pg. 130). It can be concluded, therefore, that the rise of the Indus valley civilizations around 2500 B.C. was a result of ideal agricultural conditions left behind from a century to century cyclical flood period. Naturally, this flooding cycle did not continue past 2500 B.C. because it would have destroyed agriculture for these civilizations for as long as the floods lasted, which could have been as much as a century at a time. Ironically, whereas the development of great civilizations was hindered from an abundance of water prior to 2500 B.C., the decline of the Indus valley’s civilizations after 1700 B.C., was due to a lack of water. After 1900 B.C., the Indus valley entered a period of extended drought, bringing the Indus valley civilizations to their demise. From the climatic information that we have, it seems as if this drought continued for over 1,000 years. As future civilizations conquered this area, it has been concluded from remaining documentation that the Indus valley never again hosted the same amount of water as it did prior to 1700 B.C. The Aryans were the next civilization to develop the region. From the records of this civilization, it has been concluded that the Aryan civilization never became as large as the Harappans or Mohenjodarans before them. In fact, it is known that the Aryans never actually spread their civilization outward from the rivers in the Indus valley. The previous civilizations were able to spread from the rivers because water was not as scarce. Alexander the Great was the next to conquer the Indus valley region. From the documentation left behind from his empire, there apparently was a fraction of the water in the Indus valley between the years of his occupation of the area (330-323 B.C.) as there had been both for the Aryan as well as the previous civilizations. However, it seems as if the trend of declining water sources in the Indus valley continued beyond the rule of Alexander the Great. The documents from Alexander’s empire speak of rivers and other water sources that no long exist in the region. The history of climate change in the pre Industrial Revolutionary world is attributed to naturally occurring phenomenon. In the modern world, however, it is speculated that climate change has been affected by human influence. The exponentially growing global population combined with the exponentially increasing production of greenhouse gases may be causing unnatural (human influenced) rises in global temperatures. This phenomenon is especially pertinent to countries like India. India has an extremely large population that is relatively underdeveloped in terms of technology. The results of such conditions mean that developing countries do not have the economy or capabilities to support rapid urbanization and industrialization in the most environmentally sound manor. India is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to its geological makeup. India has 7,500 kilometers of coastline, all of which is extremely low-lying. Because of this, any potential rises in sea levels could have extreme effects. It is predicted that with a doubling in CO2 levels in the atmosphere, India ’s average air temperatures could rise anywhere between 2.33 degrees Celsius to 4.78 degrees. Furthermore, if this were to happen, the frequency and intensity of India ’s monsoon rains would increase, causing extremely profound changes in the country’s environment. This is a very serious issue for developing countries like India because such countries rely so heavily on agriculture for economic and cultural survival. 27% of India ’s gross domestic product comes from its agricultural production. 13-18% of India ’s total annual exports are agricultural products. Because India is an underdeveloped country, its agricultural system does not benefit from advanced technology. Without such advanced irrigational systems and other technological benefits, changes in India ’s rainfall and climate would have incredible effects. India ’s forests are also an essential element to the county’s economy and societal makeup. Industries based on India ’s forests makeup 1.7% of the country’s GDP. Furthermore, 55 million Indians rely on industries that function around the country’s forests for jobs. Future climate change caused by India ’s greenhouse gas production would inevitably affect the distribution, composition, and productivity of these forests. The results from this would ultimately affect the forest industry due to the changes in biodiversity, soil conditions, and productivity of the forests. This would also have profound affects on the country’s agricultural production and could possibly cause tremendous loss of jobs, widespread hunger, and massive loss of life. Not all scientists believe that rises in India ’s average temperatures would cause damaging effects however. It is possible that with rises in temperatures and rainfall, India ’s agricultural production could increase. This is a possibility because rises in temperatures could cause India ’s rainforests to expand to higher elevations. Also, drier, low-lying forests could become more fertile with increased rainfall. This possibility, however, is dangerously optimistic. To expect benefits from human induced climatic changes is not in accordance with the natural order of the global environment. India is ranked amongst the world’s top 27 most vulnerable countries to rises in sea levels. This is due to the fact that India has such a densely populated long coastline that is very low-lying. This coastline amounts for much of India ’s agricultural production because it contains most of the country’s paddy field. These paddy fields are extremely vulnerable to salinization which means that a rise in sea levels would probably destroy the coastline’s agriculture. The effects of such climate changes would be so profound on India because its coastline is home for much of the country’s social infrastructure. In addition, India ’s tourism industry is almost entirely reliant on its beaches. Potential oil reserves along India ’s coastline are also at risk to be lost with rises in sea levels which could possibly eliminate any potential natural riches existing in India. It is predicted that with a 1 meter rise in sea levels along India’s coastline, 1,700 square kilometers of agricultural land would be destroyed, putting 7.1 million Indian at risk. Sources Lamb, H.H. Climate, History and the Modern World. |
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The monsoon rains are absolutely essential for crops to grow. The economy has been called a “gamble in rains” because the rain from the monsoon fills reservoirs, tanks, rivers, and irrigation canals with water that must last until the monsoon returns in the next year.
Onam is one such festival which lasts for ten days. “ One remarkable thing about Onam is that it is celebrated by all, not only Hindus but also by Christians and Muslims who are living in Kerala. It is one festival that unites all people regardless of race and religion.”
For entertainment, the popular Indian dance, ‘Kathakali’ dance [is] performed and other spectacular events like carnivals and sports events [are] some of the highlights for the festival as well. At night there [are] songs and dances to delight all. In fact, it has been noted that a high number of tourists always visit Kerala around this period just to catch all the action and joyous celebrations of Onam.” 13 The connections are obvious here between this celebration of prosperity and the blessings the monsoon and Mahabali bring. The other popular tourist time is during the hot months of March through May, during which time foreigners come for the beaches, blue skies, and tropical beauty of Cochin and coastal Kerala. The tourism industry and locals alike call Kerala “God’s Own Country” for its seemingly divine gifts of natural beauty delivered by the monsoon rains. 
