Expressing concern over the change in rainfall pattern and temperature in Kodagu, an expert well versed with the hilly district’s ecosystem has suggested that the government should ask research centres to collate rainfall data from farmers’ rain gauges to study the impact of climate change on the district’s ecosystem as well as catchment area of river Cauvery.
“Kodagu has a practice of almost all the farmers keeping rain gauges in their estates and maintaining daily rainfall data for several decades. The government should ask reputed research centres to get such data from farmers to assess the impact of climate change,” says C.G. Kushalappa, former dean of College of Forestry, Ponnampet and an expert on Kodagu’s ecosystem.
“The need of the hour is to study and understand the patterns related to impact of climate change on different areas of Kodagu through micro-level data,” he says. This is because the impact of climate change varies in different areas within the small district. Analysis of rainfall data from 110 farmers had showed a pattern of rainfall going below 50% of average two times once in 12 years.
