JEYPORE: An unusually dry pre-monsoon season with little rainfall activity in Koraput district this year has sparked concerns among farmers ahead of the kharif crop season.
Unlike previous years when pre-monsoon showers generally started from the first week of May, large parts of the district this year are yet to receive substantial rainfall. Sources said during the past decade, Koraput usually recorded around 80 mm to 100 mm rainfall during the pre-monsoon period with at least 8 to 10 rainy days accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds.
But this year, the district has largely remained dry with prolonged heatwave-like conditions prevailing in Jeypore, Borigumma, Kotpad, Kundra and several adjoining areas. Even the cooler hill pockets of Koraput, Pottangi, Nandapur and Lamtaput have experienced unusually warm weather during May.
A farmer of Jeypore block Sadasiba Tripathy said the absence of timely pre-monsoon showers has affected moisture levels in agriculture land and dried up small streams and water sources in rural pockets. Summer vegetable cultivation and pre-kharif agricultural activities have also been affected.
Another farmer from Semiliguda Somnath Mali said normally, thunderstorms start from early May with frequent evening showers. Such conditions were rarely seen this year.
According to past records, Koraput district witnessed active pre-monsoon conditions in 2019, 2022 and 2025 when repeated thunderstorm spells brought relief from the summer heat. But this year, rainfall activity has remained far below normal.
While the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has indicated the possibility of a below-normal monsoon this year, locals said changing climate patterns have become more visible in the undivided Koraput region over the last decade with erratic rainfall, delayed thunderstorms and prolonged dry spells, increasingly affecting normal weather conditions.
