Nilgiris records highest May rainfall in two years

UDHAGAMANDALAM: The Nilgiris has received more rain than normal in May, when it recorded 213.66mm rainfall, against 67.83mm in the comparable period last year and 82.79mm in 2019.
Ooty, Kundha and Kotagiri blocks received more rain than the remaining three blocks. And the rain is still drenching parts of the hills.
Ooty recorded 38mm and 38.8mm rainfall on June 1 and 2, respectively, while other areas in the district experienced dry weather.
The Indian Meteorological Department in Chennai has, meanwhile, alerted the district administration about moderate to heavy rain for the next four days. The district administration has subsequently taken extra measures to handle the situation.
Pointing out that the district used to record an average of 70mm rainfall during the summer showers in May, a weather expert said the hill retreat had received three times more rain this time. Ooty, he said, had registered 100% more rain, compared to last year. The rain had also damaged standing crops and hindered harvesting activities.
M Murugan, a farmer from Ooty, said the summer showers hadn’t brought so much rainfall to the hills in the recent past. “It’s in May that we harvest vegetables such as cabbage, carrot and beetroot. The rain damaged the standing crops in some areas and in other areas it hindered the harvesting activities.”
Horticulture officials confirmed that a few acres of standing crops were damaged in the rain.