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Climate & Agriculture in Madurai

The city of Madurai lies on the flat and fertile plain on the banks of river Vaigai which runs in the northwest-southeast direction through the city dividing it almost into two equal halves. The land remains fertile due to Vaigai River and also Periyar Dam. Paddy is cultivated in a large scale. Even crops like pulses, millet, oil seed, cotton and sugarcane are grown here.

Climate of Madurai


Madurai is hot and dry for eight months of the year. It is one of the hottest cities of Tamil Nadu. The hottest months are from March to July. The city experiences a moderate climate from August to October, tempered by heavy rain and thundershowers, and cool and climate from November to February. Fog and dew are rare and occur only during the winter season. Being equidistant from mountain and sea, it experiences similar monsoon pattern with Northeast monsoon and Southwest monsoon, with the former providing more rain during October to December. The average annual rainfall for the Madurai district at large is about 85.76 cm. The maximum temperature of 42 °C for the decade of 2001 – 2010 was recorded in 2004 and in 2010.

Cold winds are experienced during February and March as in the neighbouring Dindugal.  Temperatures during summer reach a maximum of 40°C and a minimum of 26.3°C, though temperature over 42°C is not uncommon. Winter temperatures range between 29.6°C and 18°C. A study based on the data available with the Indian Meteorological Department on Madurai over a period of 62 years indicate rising trend in atmospheric temperature over Madurai city, attributed to urbanisation, growth of vehicles and industrial activity. Madurai hence remains one of the hottest city of the state.

For daily temperature of Madurai, click here

Agriculture in Madurai


The agriculture in Madurai is mainly due to the Vaigai River and Periyar dam. The land is fertile for most of the year. Crops like rice, pulses, millet, oil seed, cotton and sugarcane are grown here. Rice and cotton are the most prominent crops among the others. Factors such as fertility of land, monsoon behavior, rainfall, irrigation, application of fertilizers, climatic conditions, marketing facilities, prices, availability of agricultural labourers etc. determine the area and productivity of the crops.

The district has a total area under cultivation of around one lakh hectares, which includes paddy, millet, pulses, oil seeds, cotton and sugarcane. Paddy cultivation alone covers 61,000 hectares.

Madurai is situated in the Periyar- Vaigai command area.  This region is located in the southern agro-climatic zone of Tamil Nadu. The district is basically agrarian and Agriculture is the main occupation. The land under forest (50452 hectare), gross cropped Area (138,055 hectare), gross irrigated area to gross cropped are (48%) and number of tanks stood at 13,616 and gross area irrigated 69,690 hectare.

The types of soil available in the district are thin red, deep red, red soil, black and red sandy. Considering mineral resources, lime stone deposits, granite etc., are available in this district.

Apart from food crops, jasmine flower is widely cultivated in Madurai. Madurai Jasmine flowers are famous worldwide. The annual production of jasmine is 77247 ton. The jasmine flowers are being exported to neighboring countries like Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Middle East countries.

Thus agriculture flourishes in Madurai and contributes more to the state’s agriculture growth.

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