Maharashtra’s interior regions are shifting to a hotter, drier climate zone while the Konkan coast is experiencing increased rainfall (Representative image)
The warning comes as the state grapples with a deficient monsoon, with drought declared in 265 of its 358 talukas on September 26. Maharashtra’s seasonal rainfall deficit stood at 19%, against a national shortfall of 12.6%, in a year marked by El Niño conditions that tend to weaken the southwest monsoon. Goa recorded a rainfall shortfall of 34%, while Kerala and coastal Karnataka were 28% below normal, according to the data cited in the study note. The study, ‘Identifying the climate zones shifts of Indian meteorological subdivisions: insights from historical records’, classifies India’s meteorological subdivisions using the Köppen–Geiger system and IMD gridded rainfall and maximum and minimum temperature data for 1951–2020.
MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s interior and coastline are moving in opposite climatic directions, with Marathwada and west Vidarbha shifting into a hotter, drier climate zone while the country’s wettest climate zone has expanded along the Konkan coast, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) study has found. The findings raise concerns over how farmers, water managers and policymakers prepare for changing rainfall and temperature patterns. The west coast, too, experienced a deficient monsoon this year. For Maharashtra, the findings point to the need for region-specific strategies, strengthening heat and drought resilience, water conservation and crop planning in the interior, while accounting for changing rainfall risks along the coast.