2025 among warmest years despite relief from 2024 extremes

 

SAM PAUL A., 

KOZHIKODE, The Hindu 4/2/2026

Kerala experienced its 13th warmest year on record in 2025, with the annual mean land surface air temperature reaching 25.82°C, about 0.22°C above the Long Period Average (LPA, 1991–2020).

According to the Statement on Climate for the State of Kerala: 2025, released by the Institute for Climate Change Studies, Kottayam, under the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, temperatures remained higher than normal, though the year was significantly cooler than 2024 – the warmest year on record for the State since observations began in 1901. In 2024, the annual mean temperature was 0.99°C above normal.

Temperature anomaly

 

Unlike 2024, which saw “consistent record-breaking” heat, 2025 was characterised by mixed seasonal temperature patterns. The winter season was notably warmer than average, with a temperature anomaly of +0.63°C, ranking as the fifth warmest winter on record. Other seasons remained close to their respective LPAs.

The State’s annual mean maximum and minimum temperatures were above normal by 0.13°C and 0.31°C, ranking as the 14th and 10th warmest respectively since 1901.

The broader trend points to persistent warming. The report notes that eight of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred during the recent decade (2016–2025), making it the warmest decade on record.

The annual mean temperature during 2011–2020 was 0.35°C above normal, increasing further to 0.56°C during 2016–2025. Over the period from 1901 to 2025, Kerala’s annual mean temperature has risen at a rate of about 1.15°C per 100 years.

Further analysis shows that maximum temperatures have been rising faster than minimum temperatures in the State. Between 1901 and 2025, average maximum temperature increased by 1.77°C per 100 years, compared with a relatively smaller rise of 0.53°C in average minimum temperature. Until the late 1980s, the rise in annual maximum temperatures were generally at a lower rate than minimum temperatures. Thereafter, the trend “reversed”, with maximum temperatures rising at a higher rate than minimum temperatures, leading to higher annual average diurnal temperature variation in recent decades.

Coastal waters

The State’s coastal waters also remained “persistently warm” for most of the year. The annual mean sea surface temperature was 0.47°C above normal in the north and 0.42°C in the south. Although cooler than the record warmth of 2024, the long-term trend indicates “sustained ocean warming”.

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From Mongolia to Malabar: rare bird Isabelline shrike spotted in Kannur

 

ABDUL LATHEEF NAHA, 

MALAPPURAM, The Hindu, 3/2/2026

Birdwatchers in Kannur have sighted an Isabelline shrike, a rare migratory bird believed to have arrived from the Mongolian region during the winter season. This marks the first recorded sighting of the species in Malabar and only the second in Kerala.

The bird was spotted a few days ago at Katampally in Kannur by a team led by Jayan Thomas and Afsar Nayakan.

Recorded only once

The identification took several days, as the Isabelline shrike closely resembles the more commonly seen Brown shrike and had been recorded only once earlier in the State.

District Police Chief (Kannur City) Nidhin Raj and senior birder C. Mohan were among the bird enthusiasts who joined the team in observing the rare visitor.

“We took multiple photographs of the bird and shared them with experts across the country. While many initially identified it as a Brown shrike, our doubts persisted,” said Dr. Thomas.

“We then consulted Graham Walbridge, a British birder and field ornithologist renowned for his expertise in migrant birds and rarities, who confirmed that it was indeed an Isabelline shrike, a rare sight in South India.”

An ophthalmologist by profession, Dr. Thomas said the sighting was a moment of great excitement. “The bird migration season is one of nature’s great wonders and a source of pure joy for birders like me,” he said.

Migrates to Pakistan

Characterised by its sandy-brown plumage, partial eye mask and reddish tail, the Isabelline shrike breeds in Mongolia and China and migrates to north India, Pakistan and Africa during winter.

“It rarely reaches South India. We have been observing the bird for several days and expect it to continue its journey to Africa before returning to Mongolia,” Dr. Thomas said.

The bird derives its name ‘shrike’ from its loud, shrieking call and is also known as the ‘butcher bird’ for its habit of impaling prey on fences or barbed wire.

“We were thrilled to watch it foraging on a caterpillar. It also feeds on large insects, small birds and rodents,” said Dr. Thomas. The term ‘Isabelline’ is believed to originate from Queen Isabella of Spain, referring to an off-white or sandy-brown colour.

The team pointed out that the Katampally wetlands provide an ideal feeding habitat for migratory birds.

“Preserving this wetland is crucial for maintaining the ecological balance,” Dr. Thomas said.

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Court flags delay in forming Ashtamudi management unit

 

THE HINDU BUREAU,

KOCHI, 8/1/2026

The Kerala High Court has held that the member secretary of the State Wetland Authority can function as the CEO of the Ashtamudi Wetland Management Unit that was envisaged to conserve the Ashtamudi wetland.

It further expressed its displeasure over the delay in constituting the management unit. The court was hearing a contempt plea filed by Boris Paul, a lawyer, alleging that the government is yet to comply with the directions issued by the High Court in July 2025.

The court had directed the State government and the State Wetland Authority Kerala (SWAK) to constitute the wetland management unit for the conservation of the wetland within two months of a notification being issued for this. In addition, an integrated management plan for the wetland was to be finalised within six months. The direction came when the court was considering a public interest litigation (PIL) highlighting the rampant waste dumping and encroachments in the Ashtamudi wetland, which in turn was causing water pollution and the destruction of mangrove forests. The second biggest wetland in Kerala, the Ashtamudi lake was designated a Ramsar site in 2002. In the PIL, Mr. Paul and Kollam-based Help Foundation had sought a court directive to remove the encroachers and to form an independent monitoring committee to continuously monitor the lake’s conservation measures.

A sanitation survey done by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) around the lake in 2020-2022 revealed serious health risks due to poor waste management. Open defecation around Ashtamudi was contributing to the spread of waterborne diseases, while 18% of households discharged toilet waste directly into the waterbody.

A report of the Committee on Environment of the Kerala Legislative Assembly had in its report submitted to the Assembly on 17, March, 2023 stated that the Ashtamudi wetland faced heavy pollution, encroachments, and siltation. Its area reduced from 61.40 sq. km. to 34 sq. km, while its depth reduced to less than half a metre in many areas. Mangroves and crucial fish-breeding grounds have almost disappeared, and fishers dependent on this wetland were on the verge of losing their livelihoods. Human waste, chemicals and untreated hospital and commercial waste entered the wetland through the Kollam canal.

In 2023, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had imposed a penalty of ₹10 crore on the State government for its failure to protect the Ashtamudi lake and other wetlands.

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