Meet the Karnataka man measuring rainfall for 47 years
This farmer of Dakshina Kannada district has followed in his father’s footsteps and has weather data for about 17,500 days, a treasure for climate researchers.
In the Western Ghats, the Kannada word kumbhadrona is used to describe torrential rains during monsoons. It often rains here non-stop for days together, forcing people to stop all activities. Artistes go on a hiatus, farmers take a break and schools declare holidays during heavy rainfall.
“We no longer have that kind of rainfall,” said PGSN Prasad, a 65-year-old farmer from Balila village in Sullia taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. This isn’t just an anecdote. He has solid rainfall data of over 47 years to back his statement.
“Whether it rains or not, I have continued to record the weather data for almost five decades,” said Prasad.
The statistics include maximum and minimum temperatures of the day, rainfall (if any) in millimetres, and subjective experience of the day – whether it was hot, windy, cold, etc. He also records the occurrence of cyclones, comets and other meteorological events.
Seeds of interest
The son of an Ayurveda practitioner, Prasad grew up seeing his father carefully record the rainfall data in his diary. He was using a funnel and a bottle to measure the rain, which wasn’t an accurate method.
In 1975, when Prasad was in class 10, he began his own experiments to correctly measure the rainfall at his house. The seed of interest that sprouted then has continued to grow till date.
“When I began recording the data, I spent the first six months experimenting,” he recalled.
He did not know what kind of vessel would be ideal for measurement. In the end, he zeroed in on the narrow, cylindrical beakers found in his school laboratory, and procured one through a lab equipment supplier in Mangaluru.
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According to Prasad, anyone can start recording rainfall, with minimum effort. All you need is a simple cylindrical beaker with flat sides whose circumference needs to be uniform till the bottom. Prasad has been using the same beaker since the 1980s. It has markings in millimetres.
To get accurate measurements the beaker needs to be kept in an open space, away from foliage or any shelter to ensure that the water collected is from the rain alone and not residual droplets from other surfaces. It also needs a stable support, so that it doesn’t fall and break due to heavy winds.
A committed hobbyist
It may be a hobby that takes hardly a few minutes of your day, but it demands commitment and dedication. Prasad measures the rainwater collected in the container once every 24 hours – at 8 am every day, irrespective of the weather conditions.
“You may delay brushing your teeth, but you can’t delay taking the measurements every day at the same time,” Prasad emphasised.
In the rainy season, he does not leave his home in order to record the data every day. But during unavoidable circumstances his wife or his sons take over the job and ensure that the readings for those days are recorded.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, I was hospitalised and was in the ICU for two weeks,” recalled Prasad. “But my family continued to take measurements.”
He tabulates each year’s data on charts, which gives an overview of multiple years at a glance, and offers insights on weather patterns – a significant exercise in the era of climate crisis.
Community of data collectors
In the nearby Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru districts, which are known for their coffee plantations, this practice of recording rainfall data has been common in households for over 150 years. In fact, the joke is that when people try to buy land in Kodagu, they ask for the rainfall data along with land records. But in Dakshina Kannada, it has started gaining popularity only recently.
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“Now over 40 people are measuring and recording weather data in Sullia taluk alone,” said Prasad.
This number has grown from just four or so a decade ago to over 80 people in Dakshina Kannada and surrounding districts, who regularly share their measurements in a WhatsApp group. For a district whose main crop includes arecanut, accurate information on rain can make or break the yield.
“There needs to be at least one measuring device for every 3.5 km of area,” said Prasad. “For a village like Balila, we need at least three measurements. The good thing is that we have six.”
While four of them are hobbyists like Prasad, the other two measurements are taken in local schools – Vidyabodhini High School and Vidyabodhini Higher Primary School. Prasad is involved in the management of these schools where he was once a student. He has been encouraging children to take up this hobby of measuring and recording weather data. He has even donated a beaker each to the schools along with the stands.
Next-gen enthusiasts
“Not all the children will be interested. But even if one child among 10 shows interest then that’s great,” Prasad said.
He does not want to be the only person to have collected this much data. He wants to conduct demonstrations in more schools and help them learn this art of recording weather statistics. If the children show interest and learn quickly, he wants to award them with a measuring kit containing a beaker and a stand.
“Imagine, if they start early, when they reach my age, they would have more data than I have now,” he said.
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The lead image at the top shows the beaker with which PGSN Prasad measures rainfall data every day (Photo by Amulya B)
Amulya B is a multimedia journalist, writer and translator based in Bengaluru. Her stories explore the intersection of culture, society and technology. She is the winner of Toto Funds the Arts for creative writing and Laadli Award. She is a Rural Media Fellow 2022 at Youth Hub, Village Square.
