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Early onset of summer boosts watermelon sale
by Jehovah

         Coimbatore: Sale of watermelons has shot up in Coimbatore due to early onset of summer. The rising temperature this year has increased the demand for watermelon and there is a shortfall in production as the yield is 20 per cent less as compared to last year. "Due to the early arrival of summer, the demand for watermelon is very impressive and during the months of April and May the demand will increase. But because of the early summer this year, the watermelon yield is 20 per cent less as compared to last year." said Mubarak, a wholesale watermelon fruit seller. In order to beat the heat, people are having watermelons from the roadside stalls. "Generally hot up summer falls in the months of April and May in the south this time it has arrived a bit early and now as the temperature had started shooting up we have started eating fruits like watermelons to balance our body temperature," said Chellakutti, a resident. According to Prof. Geetha Lakshmi, a researcher in the Agro Climate Research Centre of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, the main reason behind the rise in temperature is due to overusage of fossil fuel, which is causing pollution resulting in global warming. The Department is engaged in a research study on the climate change and change in crop pattern due to the rise in temperatures. "We have done some initial analysis and have found that Tamil Nadu is not going to be an exception and se by around 0.5 degree Celsius in the mid of this century. Towards the end of this century around three degree Celsius of increase is going to happen in all over Tamil Nadu. So this is what we are expecting as far as the initial reports are concerned," sae initial reports are concerned," said Lakshmi.
-Mar 10, 2009

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