Experience the rain forecast in India

Mr. Sivaiah, a farmer in the village of Chintapalle (southern Andhra Pradesh, India), was content to see the flying storks flying in the sky. It was a sign of the approaching rain and he was able to bring out the farm tools to prepare for the new seeding season.

Meanwhile, the wife of Mr. Sivaiah announced that sugar and salt in the house were damp. A few neighbors said they saw lightning in the sky in the northeast. The head of the village began examining the phoenix fruit. If the seeds grow evenly, it means that the rainfall will be uniform during the seeding season. Immediately, the whole village roared the story of the coming rain.

Today's state-of-the-art technical facilities allow rain forecasting with high accuracy and reliability. However, Indian farmers still prefer to predict rain according to folk experience. The national weather forecast program often does not attract farmers' attention due to the general regional prediction, while they want to know the exact weather in the village where they live. Therefore, the 'hereditary' experiences of the weather forecast from the natural observation have been applied more thoroughly.

Low flying dragonflies are raining

Folk experience in weather forecast has caused a 'small storm' in the Indian scientific world. And the things that were in the past few decades were merely supposed to be ancient traditions that have become 'new points' scrutinized by the scientific community.

K scientist Ravi Shankar, who is very experienced in the field of agricultural extension and technology transfer, spent three years studying in villages in Anantapur, Vishakapatnam and Ranga Reddy in Andhra Pradesh state. Mr. Shankar went from house to house, talking to the elders who enthusiastically shared with him the deep folk experiences. In Andhra Pradesh alone, Mr. Shankar collected 24 experiences of forecasting rain from biological phenomena (from observing insects, trees, animals .) and 42 experiences from natural phenomena. (clouds, wind, thunder .).

The folk experiences always mentioned in the rain forecast are the dancers who dance, the dragonflies fly into the herd for hours, the caterpillars rush to find shelter . The height of the bird's nest is also a Interesting experience. If the bird nest is in a high position, the rainfall is usually abundant and vice versa.

According to entomologist D Jagadeeswar Reddy, tracking insect movements , such as ants moving into herds and carrying eggs or increasing the number of termites in the tree, is an accurate predictor of the amount rain. The reason is that animals can sense the change of wind flow, humidity and air pressure, causing their behavior to change.

When the humidity rises, the goats feel uncomfortable and often wave their ears, the sheep snuggle together and the owl often fidgets. Meanwhile, the frogs will jump out of the cavity and make a crack when the air pressure changes.

Plants also have their own way of predicting rain. Researchers say the change in plants is also an accurate weather prediction experience. When the flowers begin to bloom, exactly 45 days later it will rain, and when neem (Indian oval) blooms, heavy rain will come.

Over the years, the climate situation has fluctuated with the dramatic changes of the seasons, the rain has become increasingly unpredictable. These changes sometimes lead to 'embarrassment' of the animal and vegetable community in finding ways to adapt to the new type of weather. So, the weather forecast method combining traditional folk with modern science will bring more efficiency - experts conclude.