Weather and Crop Condition Report Erode District DISTRICT PROFILE : Erode District lies on the extreme north of Tamil Nadu. It is bounded mostly by Karnataka State and also River Palar covers pretty long distance. To the East lies Namakkal and Karur Districts. Dindugal District is its immediate neighbour to the South and on the West, it has Coimbatore and Nilgiri Districts, as its boundaries. Thus Erode District is essentially a land-locked area having no sea-cost of its own. Erode District situated at between 10 36” and 11 58” North Latitude and between 76 49” and 77 58” East Longitude. The region comprised in the district can be portrayed as a long undulating plain gently sloping towards the river Cauvery in the south-east. The two major tributaries of river Cauvery viz. Bhavani and Noyyal drain the long stretch of mountains in the north. A part of the eastern boundary of the district is formed by river Cauvery, entering the district from Salem and flowing in a southernly direction. DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIVE SET UP : Erode district is divided into two Revenue divisions Erode and Gobichettipalayam. There are 9 taluks and 375 Revenue villages. Erode Corporation is the only corporation in Erode district. There are four Municipalities namely Bhavani, Gobichettipalayam, Sathyamangalam and Punjai Pulliampatti. There are 44 Town panchayats and 230 Village Panchayats. The village panchayats are grouped into 14 Nos., of Panchayat Unions (Blocks or Community Development Blocks) as listed below: ERODE DISTRICT - BLOCKWISE AREA DETAILS Name of Name of Taluk Nam e of Area in S.No Revenue the block hectare Division 1. Erode Erode Erode 17763 Modakuruchi Modakkurichi 34889 Kodumudi Kodumudi 22564 Perundurai Perundurai 29235 Chennimalai 28495 2. Gobi Gobi Gobichettipalayam 27004 Nambiyur 24908 Thookanaickenpalayam 18445 Sathyamangalam Sathyamangalam 96328 Bhavanisagar 28229 Talavadi Talavadi 94000 Bhavani Bhavani 22036 Ammapettai 39700 Anthiyur Anthiyur 23371 Ammapettai 65296 Total Area 572263 TOPOGRAPHY: Topography of the district can be portrayed as a long undulating plain gently sloping from North West towards the river Cauvery in the south-east and has rock out crops. The north western part of the district which includes Thalavadi, Sathyamangalam, Gobichettypalayam, Bhavani Sagar, Bhavani, Andhiyur, Ammapet blocks is flanked by southern slopes of eastern ghats. The district is bounded at the north by western ghats of which the Thimbam hills and Thalavadi ranges attain an elevation of 1200 metre. The north western part of the district is forest area and the elevation ranges from 600 to 1350 m. In the plains the elevation ranges from 150 to 300 m. southerly direction. A small patch of area almost plain and the elevation ranges from 100 to 150 m falls western side of Cauvery river. CLIMATE AND RAINFALL The district in general is characterised with a scanty rainfall and a dry climate. Maximum rainfall is recorded in Gobichettipalayam and Bhavani taluks. The Palghat gap in the Western Ghats, which has a soothing effect in the climate of Coimbatore District, does not render much help in bringing down the dry climate in this area. The cool-wind that gushes out of the west coast through Palghat gap looses its coolness and becomes dry by the time it crosses Coimbatore district and reaches Erode region Unlike Coimbatore which is blessed with a health-aiding climate, Erode District has dry weather throughout except during the monsoon season. Generally the first two months of the year are pleasant, but in March, Mercury gains an upward trend which persists till the end of May. Highest temperature is normally recorded during May. The scanty showers during this period do not provide any relief to the oppressive heat. There is a light improvement in the climate during June-August period. During this pre-monsoon period, the mercury reverses its trend and by September, the sky gets overcast heavily but the rains are meagre. North-east monsoon sets in vigorously only during October-November and by December, the rains disappear rendering the climate clear but pleasant. S.No Season Month Rainfall in mm 1. Winter showers Jan, Feb : 25.6 2. Summer showers Mar - May : 162.2 3. Southwest monsoon June - Sep : 212.9 4. Northeast monsoon Oct - Dec : 316.3 Total 717.0 RAINFALL DETAILS S.No Month Normal 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 1. January 15 15.9 7.8 0.1 2.5 0 0.81 0 0.97 0.00 0.00 1.19 0.00 2. February 10.6 24.5 - 7 28.9 0 0 9.89 0.00 33.08 0.00 0.00 0.00 Winter 25.6 40.4 7.8 7.1 31.4 0 0.81 9.89 0.97 33.08 0.00 1.19 0.00 3. March 17.2 10.6 23.5 0.4 103.12 39.81 8.17 0 0.42 0.90 2.00 19.77 0.25 4. April 54 111.4 54.3 61.8 37.5 18.61 17.3 127.21 62.98 43.52 3.88 104.90 14.36 5. May 91 141.7 58 28.1 72.5 138.87 150.73 99.9 64.22 43.83 74.93 104.17 29.40 Summer 162.2 263.7 135.8 90.3 213.1 197.29 176.2 227.11 127.62 88.25 80.81 228.84 44.01 6. June 29.8 28 32.5 37.3 11.35 8.41 22.13 25.9 14.35 54.99 27.77 50.00 49.72 7. July 33.3 59.1 0.9 24.1 41.78 15.72 89.25 42.77 34.19 6.75 35.59 4.75 65.51 8. August 64.2 66.6 58.6 65.4 122.51 63.99 102.48 92.88 62.44 74.96 92.74 74.75 36.74 9. September 85.6 82 86.1 95.6 45.73 91.57 90.87 63.27 74.19 81.38 131.52 99.43 10.76 S.W. 212.9 235.7 178.1 222.4 221.4 179.69 304.73 224.82 185.17 218.08 287.62 228.93 162.73 Monsoon 10. October 168.8 87.7 182.8 163.9 196.49 76.08 112.1 183.30 179.76 135.78 328.15 119.38 34.5 11. November 113.7 228.1 193.3 83.3 79.5 181.21 330.48 197.31 49.36 51.18 48.43 256.63 14 12. December 33.8 - 6.3 227.8 21.06 15.41 38.88 27.13 6.07 15.72 19.20 18.00 26.8 N.E. 316.3 315.8 382.4 475 297.1 272.7 481.46 407.74 235.19 202.68 395.78 394.01 75.3 Monsoon Total 717.0 855.6 704.1 794.8 762.9 649.68 963.20 869.56 548.95 542.09 764.21 852.97 282.04 MONTHLY AVERGE CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA (From 2001 to 2012 ) Rainfall in Temperature in ° Relative mm C Humidity in % S.No Month Monthly Average Daily Average Max. Min. Mean Max. Min. Mean Pan Evaporation in mm/day hours Sunshine Wind speed in Km/hr No. of days rainy 1. January 6.77 0.23 32.3 22.5 27.4 77 52 64.5 5.8 6.8 6.6 0.3 2. February 13.96 0.47 31.5 23.1 27.3 74 46 60 6.4 8.3 6.2 0.7 3. March 28.43 0.95 34.8 24.5 29.7 76 45 60.5 7.2 8.3 5.8 1.8 4. April 53.23 1.77 32.8 23.8 28.3 78 56 67 7.1 7.6 5.3 2.2 5. May 86.14 2.87 38.2 26.2 32.2 70 53 61.5 7.6 8.1 5.4 3.9 6. June 31.43 1.05 34.5 24.8 29.7 67 51 59 7.8 7.6 8.2 2.4 7. July 43.15 1.44 36.5 26.2 31.4 63 48 55.5 8 6.6 10.6 1.8 8. August 71.18 2.37 36.5 24.5 30.5 63 48 55.5 8.4 7.8 9.1 3.8 9. September 82.07 2.74 38.2 24.2 31.2 68 53 60.5 7.9 7.4 6.5 3.9 10. October 221 7.37 34.8 24.3 29.6 67 53 60 6.3 6.1 5.1 6.9 11. November 140.9 4.70 32.1 21.2 26.7 77 62 69.5 4.3 4.3 5.3 5.8 12. December 33.81 1.13 30.5 22.9 26.7 82 63 72.5 5.2 4.5 6.8 1 Source :Agricultural Research Station, Bhavanisagar METEOROLOGICALPARAMETERS : TEMPERTURE Erode experiences hot and dry weather throughout the year. The temperature ranges from a maximum of 96 °F (36 °C) to a minimum of 80 °F (27 °C). Like the rest of the state, April to June are the hottest months and December to January are the coldest. Erode receives 800 mm of rainfall with an average of 717 mm. The South west monsoon, with an onset in June and lasting up to August, brings scanty rainfall. Bulk of the rainfall is received during the North East monsoon in the months of October, November and December. The municipality covers an area of 8.44 km2 (8,440,000 m2).The records of this observatory may be taken as fairly the representive of the condition of the district.