📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Vmsarunkumar
Agriculture
El Niño heat slashes Kuppam’s flower output by 40%, blooms wilt by 8 a.m.
✍️ The Hindu
🗓 19 Sep 2026, 01:01 PM
👁 6
A severe El Niño‑driven heatwave has caused flower buds in Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, to wilt by 8 a.m., cutting regional flower production by roughly 40%.
The horticulture belt around Kuppam, often dubbed Andhra’s “flower basket”, is grappling with an unprecedented heatwave linked to the El Niño phenomenon. Farmers report that flower buds begin to wilt by 8 a.m., a stark contrast to the usual early‑morning freshness.
Preliminary estimates from local growers and the state agriculture department indicate a drop of about 40 percent in total flower output for the current season. The loss threatens the livelihoods of thousands of small‑scale cultivators who depend on the cut‑flower market for income.
Experts attribute the rapid wilting to sustained temperatures well above the optimal range for floriculture, combined with reduced humidity. Irrigation costs have risen sharply as growers attempt to cool the fields, further squeezing profit margins.
The state government has announced a short‑term relief package, including subsidised electricity for irrigation pumps and a temporary waiver of market fees, but officials warn that recovery will depend on the return of normal weather patterns.
Stakeholders are urging the central meteorological agency to issue more precise forecasts, hoping that timely warnings can help mitigate future losses in the region’s flower sector.
Preliminary estimates from local growers and the state agriculture department indicate a drop of about 40 percent in total flower output for the current season. The loss threatens the livelihoods of thousands of small‑scale cultivators who depend on the cut‑flower market for income.
Experts attribute the rapid wilting to sustained temperatures well above the optimal range for floriculture, combined with reduced humidity. Irrigation costs have risen sharply as growers attempt to cool the fields, further squeezing profit margins.
The state government has announced a short‑term relief package, including subsidised electricity for irrigation pumps and a temporary waiver of market fees, but officials warn that recovery will depend on the return of normal weather patterns.
Stakeholders are urging the central meteorological agency to issue more precise forecasts, hoping that timely warnings can help mitigate future losses in the region’s flower sector.