Pre-monsoon shower

Pre-monsoon shower

Subject: Geography

Context: IMD projects that the first spell of thundershowers of this year’s pre-monsoon season (March-May) is expected to break out over parts of Tamil Nadu and most of Kerala this week.

Concept:

• Pre-monsoon showers are the key to plantation crops such as tea, rubber, coffee, pepper and cardamom in South India. However Coeffee varieties like Arabica coffee needs 90-120 days stress period and robusta about 60 days to blossom. But the rains every month since December have left the lands with moisture and vegetative growth preventing reproductive growth.
• Frequent rains will also help pepper catkins to gain weight, though new ones may not appear until the plants undergo a stress period.

About Pre-Monsoon shower

• Pre-monsoon shower or summer rain is formed due to the storm over the Bay of Bengal.
• It is a mixture of dry and moist winds. It at times gives rise to local storms, such as the occurrence of violent winds, heavy rain and hailstorms.
• These showers’ effect can be seen in two ways such as in some states of northern India it reduces the intensity of heat waves, but it also come with the blessing of showers in the Eastern and Southern India for the farmers.
• Different names of pre-monsoon shower

1. Tea Shower in Assam
2. Kalbaishakh in West Bengal
3. Mango Shower in Kerala and Coastal areas of Karnataka
4. Cherry Blossoms/ Coffee showers in Kerala and some part of Karanataka