A man from Kerala can predict rain

M P Vimal Kumar is a much sought after man in Wayanad, Kerala as he has a knack of predicting rains. For the past 34 years, he has very diligently recorded each day’s rain, be it a thunderstorm or a mild drizzle. Every day, 72-year-old Vimal Kumar checks his rain gauge which comprises of a simple metal funnel and a calibrated measuring cylinder which is placed in front of his house. There is a fixed time - 6 am to record the daily rainfall measurements. He then enters the readings meticulously in a ledger book which he has printed for the purpose. He has become an impromptu consultant for coffee and cardamom cultivators, to the weather bureau and confectionery giant Cadbury. The data acquired over the years and its implications with regard to visible climate change enable him to predict rainfall. Vimal Kumar is the owner of a 30-acre coffee plantation and many rain-dependent Farmers of his village Muttil and neighbouring areas seek his assistance on all things associated with showers. Vimal Kumar said that he had observed that the yield of coffee is heavily dependent on the timing and quantity of rain which is critical for blossoming and fruit setting. Thereafter, he began recording rainfall daily from the year 1983. After years of observation, he could now predict the quantity of rain in mm by just watching the precipitation and its duration. Vimal Kumar has received praise and admiration from the regional director of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), S Sudevan who said that although IMD has four weather monitoring stations in Wayanad, personal initiatives like that of Vimal Kumar can provide hyper local weather information which will be useful to farmers and others in a specific locality.