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Weather Indicators: Animals & Plants Know It's Monsoon

07:06 AM
21 May 2022

Weather Indicators
Animals & Plants Know It's Monsoon

Spectacular peacock dance foretelling the rains for the area!Spectacular peacock dance foretelling the rains for the area! - © picture alliance

Plants and animals have been nature’s weather indicators for centuries before satellite images, gadgetry and big data processing enabled reliable weather predictions as we know them today.

Animals are in sync with nature and sense wind shift, humidity and pressure change before we do. They need to protect themselves from severe weather and seek shelter based on their sensations.

A very well known indicator is the dragonflies flying in a group three to four meters above ground level. If you witness such a scene it will probably rain in the evening.

What about other animals, birds and insects?

  • Goats flap ears when the humidity increases as they feel uneasy
  • Owls hoot due to restlessness brought on by increased humidity
  • The swelling on the lower portion of the camel's legs also hints at rainfall
  • The red hairy caterpillar makes a dash for shelter before rainfall
  • Ant colonies move en mass, sometimes carrying eggs before the rains
  • Centipedes emerge from their holes carrying their eggs in swarms indicates early rainfall
  • And of course the most spectacular peacock dance foretelling the rains for the area!

The Golden shower tree (known as kanikonna in Kerala) reaches flowering peak exactly 45 days before rains start. A neem tree in full bloom indicates an arrival of ample rain.

Dropping of flowers from the Palash (flame-of-the-forest) tree indicates the onset of monsoon.

Weather & Radar editorial desk
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