Department of Science & Technology, Lakshadweep

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FORMATION AND GROWTH OF ISLANDS

     The islands on these atolls are invariably situated on the eastern reef margin except Bangaram and Cheriyakara which lie in the centre of the lagoon. On Bitra, the island is on the northern edge of the lagoon. The atolls Show various stages of development of the islands, the reefs at Cheriya panniyam, Perumalpar and Suheli represent, the earliest stage while Kalpeni, Kavaratti, Agatti and Kadmat are in intermediate stage and Chetlat and Kiltan are in an advanced or mature stage of  development. The  development and growth of the islands on eastern reef margin has been controlled by a number of factors. The cyclones from the east have piled up coral debris on the eastern reef while the very high waves generated annually during the southwest monsoon have pounded the reef and broken this into coarse and subsequently to fine sediments which was then  transported and deposited on the eastern side behind the coral boulders and pebbles on the eastern reef. A gradual accretion of sediments by this process has led to the growth of the islands. Even the atolls where the islands are not yet fully developed (Suheli, Valiyapanniyam and Bitra) sandy cays occur on the eastern reef margin. In some of the lagoons like Kiltan and Chetlat the islands are growing at a very fast rate and during the next decade the lagoon itself may be filled up with sediments. In such atolls where openings occur in the reef or where the lagoon is too wide for the sand to be transported across its entire width. sand banks usually develop and enlarge towards the centre of the lagoon leading to the formation of the island in the centre such as in Bangaram and Suheli etc.

    The islands do not have any rivers or creeks but some brackish water ponds occur at Bangaram and Minicoy. At Bangaram the pond has been formed during the process of growth of the Islands where the outlet of the bay has been blocked by sand. At Minicoy, a similar pond was being formed at the southern edge but a bund has been constructed and this has created an artificial brackish water pond.

LOCATION, BOUNDARIES, AREA AND POPULATION

     The islands are irregularly scattered in the Arabian Sea between 8" and 12"-30'  north latitude and  between 71" and 74" east longitude. There are in all twenty seven islands and a number of sunken banks, open reefs and sand banks. Only eleven islands are inhabited (including the Bangaram island which is newly inhabited). Other islands are small and exist as satellites of the inhabited islands, which are away from  Kozhikode by  about 200 to 400 kilometers.  

     According to the Survey of India,  the geographical area of Lakshadweep is 32 Sq. Kms. Its area according to the revenue records is only 28.5 Sq. Kms., which represents only the land use area.  The names of the inhabited and uninhabited islands indicating the area are given below.

CLIMATE

     Lying well within the tropics and  extending to the equatorial belt, these islands have a tropical  humid, warm and generally pleasant climate, becoming more equatorial in the southern islands of the  territory. From the point of view of temperature, the climate is equable and no distinct and well marked seasons are experienced. Southwest monsoon period is the chief rainy season which lasts from late May to early October.

RAIN FALL

Normal and Extremes of Rain Falls

  (a) Normal Rain Fall in mm (b) Average no. of Rainy days (days with rain of 2.5 mm or more - based on all available data up to 1965

Frequency of Annual Rainfall

TEMPERATURE & HUMIDITY

Normals of Temperature ad relative Humidity

CLOUDINESS

Mean Cloud Amount (okta) and Mean Number of days of Lightly/Heavily clouded skies

 (a) Days with sky lightly clouded  (b) Days with sky heavily clouded  (c) Mean cloud amount

 WIND SPEED

Mean Wind Speed (Km.ph) and predominal Wind Direction  

 (a) Mean wind speed in Kms. per hour      (M) Predominant direction in the morning   (E)   Predominant direction in the evening  (C) Calm. The next predominant direction is also indicated when calm is mentioned

 SPECIAL WEATHER PHENOMENA

 No of days 2 and above are given in whole numbers

  STORMS AND DEPRESSIONS

     A few of the cyclonic depressions and storms, which form in the south Arabian Sea during April and May, affect the weather  over  the  territory. During the post monsoon months of October to December also, a few of such systems originating in the Bay of Bengal and traveling westwards  emerge into the south Arabian sea, and occasionally affect these islands. In association with these, strong winds are  caused  and  heavy  rains occur. The following table gives the number of storms and depressions which affected the region in the above mentioned months during the 80 years ending 1970. During the rest of the months, the territory was not affected by such systems.

 The cyclonic storms are believed to be responsible for the disposition of coral debris around the islands forming coral beach and the lagoons.

NATURAL CALAMITIES

Storms and Cyclones

Surrounded by the vast ocean, the islands are open to storms and cyclones. One of the earliest natural calamities recorded was the great storm that struck the islands in April, 1847. It commenced in Kalpeni about 8 p.m. on 15^th April, passed on to   Androt  and finally  reached Kiltan after devastating  these  two  islands.  All the houses in Kalpeni were damaged and many were entirely washed away. The population of that island prior to the hurricane was reckoned at 1642. Of these, 246 were drowned or washed away by the  storm. One hundred and twelve perished in the ensuing five months from famine or from the diseases engendered by  unwholesome and insufficient food, 376 escaped to the coast, leaving in the island 908, of whom nearly four-fifths were women and children. The plantations in the island were completely destroyed. Out of upwards of  1,05,000  full  grown  coconut trees, the number before the storm, only 768 survived. In Androth, the population before the storm was 2576. Many people perished in the storm and large numbers of the survivors migrated to other islands. Those left in the island numbered only 900. The coconut  trees  were  almost  completely destroyed . 

In 1891, a violent storm burst upon Kavaratti island causing considerable  damage to  coconut trees. Large remissions of rent upon the cowle lands were necessitated during the next few years. The storm did a great deal of damage in Agatti and its attached islets and the Amindivi group of islands. But the damage done by the storm was not so great in these islands as in Kavaratti. 

Kalpeni island was hit by  a  severe  cyclone on Ist December, 1922. The waves washed completely over the narrow northern end and the sea poured across the island into the lagoon. The people in the northern part of the island had to flee for safety and all rushed to the mosque to pray. Fortunately the  storm  subsided without doing any serious damage beyond blowing down a few trees. The cyclone was scarcely felt in any other island except Suheli and to a slight extent Androth. 

Another major storm which hit the islands occurred in 1941. Kavaratti was the  island most  affected by this storm. In 1963, a cyclone of mild intensity struck  Androth island and 540 coconut trees were uprooted.  The  major calamity in recent times was the storm that hit the territory in December, 1965 causing considerable damage in Androth and Kalpeni islands. About 11,500 coconut trees were uprooted in Androth and about 9,500 trees in Kalpeni. Though the storm was felt in Kavaratti, Agatti and Kiltan, it was not so vehement in these islands. Government sanctioned a grant of about Rs.  14,000 in  kind  towards relief to the victims, in addition to a loan of nearly Rs. 3¹/₂  lakhs.

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This site was last updated 10/03/06