It means ‘little boy’ in Spanish. But there is nothing childlike in El Nino, a weather phenomenon caused by rising surface temperatures in the Pacific and triggering drought-like situations in southeast Asia. For farmers in Odisha, the dreaded and much-debated El Nino has, however, sparked confusion—for the time being—after two leading international weather monitoring agencies predicted a long, dry spell this year. “Hold on…,” says the local weathermen. “It’s too early for such predictions.” The India Meteorological Department (IMD), the official weather bureau, issues its yearly monsoon bulletin in April and updates it in a couple of months.
Skymet and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the US have predicted a long, hot summer in Odisha lasting up to August and scanty rainfall during the peak monsoon months of July and August, triggering fears of drought in a state where agriculture continues to be predominantly rainfed. What it effectively means is...
