Decadal Trends in Climate Change in Central Tamil Nadu, India: Implications for Climate Resilient Agriculture

A temporal rainfall analysis of Central Tamil Nadu was carried out for 12 decades for the purpose of examining the Climate Change. The detailed statistical analysis of annual as well as season-wise rainfall data showed that there was a drastic climate change over the years, under the study. The mean annual rainfall was 862.10 mm but there was a wider range in the distribution of rainfall seasonally as well as annualy as high as 874.98 mm and the annual rainfall exhibited a very high variance of 28,094.69 mm. The coefficient of variation observed was also higher ranging from 31.95 to 104.60. An analysis of Kurtosis showed Platykurtic distribution (negative kurtosis with lighter tail) of rainfall for the first 6 decades of the 19th century (1900-1960), whereas, it was Leptokurtic distribution (positive kurtosis with heavier tail) for the rest of the 6 decades. (1961-2021). Hence, drastic climate change was clearly visible in Kurtosis analysis, when it turned from Platykurtic distribution to Leptokurtic distribution. The results suggested that there were more number of extreme events in the later decades. These facts clearly portrayed the profound effect of climate change in Central Tamil Nadu, in the years studied. Therefore, it is recommended that efficient climate resilient policy options: building resilience in soil, rainwater harvesting and recycling, water saving technologies, adapter cultivars and cropping systems, crop contingency plans, livestock and fishery intervention, weather based agro advisories and other institutional interventions should be put in place so as to increase the resilience of agricultural production to climate change in the central Tamil Nadu.