Kovai Temperature

[Edie Staniszewski]

Theregion around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during the Sangam period between the 1st and the 4th centuries CE and it served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the west coast and Tamil Nadu. Coimbatore was located along the ancient trade route Rajakesari Peruvazhi that extended from Muziris to Arikamedu in South India. The medieval Cholas conquered the Kongu Nadu in the 10th century CE. The region was ruled by Vijayanagara Empire in the 15th century followed by the Nayaks who introduced the Palayakkarar system under which Kongu Nadu region was divided into 24 Palayams. In the later part of the 18th century, the Coimbatore region came under the Kingdom of Mysore and following the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the Anglo-Mysore Wars, the British East India Company annexed Coimbatore to the Madras Presidency in 1799. The Coimbatore region played a prominent role in the Second Poligar War (1801) when it was the area of operations of Dheeran Chinnamalai.

In 1804, Coimbatore was established as the capital of the newly formed Coimbatore district and in 1866, it was accorded municipality status with Robert Stanes as its chairman. The city experienced a textile boom in the early 19th century due to the decline of the cotton industry in Mumbai. Post Independence, Coimbatore has seen rapid growth due to industrialisation and is one of the largest exporters of jewellery, wet grinders, poultry and auto components; the "Coimbatore Wet Grinder" and the "Kovai Cora Cotton" are recognised as Geographical Indications by the Government of India. Being a hub of textile industry in South India, the city is referred to as the "Manchester of South India".

Coimbatore was ranked the best emerging city in India by India Today in the 2014 annual survey, fourth among Indian cities in investment climate by Confederation of Indian Industry and 17th among the top global outsourcing cities by Tholons. Coimbatore has been selected as one of the Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission and AMRUT by Government of India. Coimbatore regularly features among the top ten best cities to live in India and is amongst the safest cities in India for women according to National Crime Records Bureau report in 2015.

The region around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during Sangam period between c. 1st and the 4th centuries CE and it served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the west coast and Tamil Nadu.[8] The Kosar tribe mentioned in the 2nd century CE Tamil epic Silappathikaram and other poems in Sangam literature is associated with the Coimbatore region.[9] The region was located along an ancient Roman trade route that extended from Muziris to Arikamedu.[10][11] The medieval Cholas conquered the Kongu Nadu in the 10th century. A Chola highway called Rajakesari Peruvazhi ran through the region.[12][13] Much of Tamil Nadu came under the rule of the Vijayanagara Empire by the 15th century. In the 1550s, Madurai Nayaks, who were the military governors of the Vijaynagara Empire, took control of the region. After the Vijayanagara Empire fell in the 17th century, the Madurai Nayaks established their state as an independent kingdom. They introduced the Palayakkarar system under which Kongu Nadu region was divided into 24 Palayams(towns).[14]

The decline of the cotton industry in Mumbai fuelled an economic boom in Coimbatore in the 1920s and 1930s.[19] The region played a significant role in the Indian independence movement with Mahatma Gandhi visiting the city three times.[22] Coimbatore was the base of operations for such political figures as S. P. Narasimhalu Naidu, R. K. Shanmukham Chetty, C.S. Rathinasabapathy and C. Subramaniam during the independence movement.[23] Post independence, Coimbatore has seen rapid growth due to industrialisation and in 1981 it was constituted as a municipal corporation.[24] On 14 February 1998, the radical Islamist group Al Ummah bombed 11 places across the city killing 58 people and injuring more than 200.[25]

The city is divided into two distinctive geographic regions: the dry eastern side which includes majority of the urban area of the city and the western region which borders the Nilgiris, Anaimalai and Munnar ranges. Palghat Gap, a mountain pass which connects the neighbouring state of Kerala to Tamil Nadu, lies to the west of the city. Because of its location in the biodiversity hotspot of the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city is rich in fauna and flora. The Coimbatore urban wetlands harbours around 116 species of birds, of which 66 are resident, 17 are migratory and 33 are local migrants.[32] The spot-billed pelican, painted stork, openbill stork, ibis, Indian spot-billed duck, teal and black-winged stilt visit the Coimbatore wetlands on their migration.[27] Apart from the species common to the plains, various threatened and endangered species such as Indian elephants, wild boars, leopards, Bengal tigers, gaurs, Nilgiri tahr, sloth bear and black-headed oriole are found in the region.[33]

The northern part of the city has a rich tropical evergreen forest with commercially significant trees such as teak, sandalwood, rosewood and bamboo. The soil is predominantly black, which is suitable for cotton cultivation, but some red loamy soil is also found. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, Coimbatore falls under the Class III/IV Seismic Zone, having experienced an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale on 8 February 1900.[34]

Coimbatore has a tropical wet and dry climate. It experiences hot and humid summers from March to June with temperatures ranging from 25 C to 38 C. The monsoon season starts from July and lasts till October. The city receives moderate rainfall from the south-west monsoon and occasional heavy rainfall from the north-east monsoon. The winter season starts from November and ends in February. The temperatures during this season range from 20 C to 30 C.

Due to the south-west monsoon winds passing through the Palghat gap, elevated regions of the city receive rainfall in the months from June to August. After a warm and foggy September, the north-east monsoon starts from October, lasting until early November. The average annual rainfall is around 600 mm (23.6 in) with the northeast and the southwest monsoons contributing to 47% and 28% respectively to the total rainfall.[35] This periodic rainfall does not satisfy the city's water requirements throughout the year and water supply schemes drawn from Siruvani and Pilloor help supplant the requirements during low rainfall months.[37][38]

As per the 2001 census,[42] Coimbatore had a population of 930,882 within the municipal corporation limits.[46][47][48] The population of the urban agglomeration as per 2011 census is 2,136,916 with males constituting 50.08% of the population and females 49.92%.[26][44] Coimbatore has an average literacy rate of 89.23%, higher than the national average of 74.04%. Male literacy is 93.17% and female literacy is 85.3% with 8.9% of the population under six years of age. The sex ratio was 964 females per 1000 males.[49] In 2005, the crime rate in the city was 265.9 per 100,000 people, accounting for 1.2% of all crimes reported in major cities in India. It ranked 21st among 35 major cities in India in the incidence of crimes.[50] In 2011, the population density in the city was 10,052 per km2 (26,035 per mi2).[2] Around 8% of the city's population lives in slums.[51]

A large part of the Coimbatore urban agglomeration falls outside the municipal corporation limits.[59] These suburbs are governed by local bodies called Village Panchayats and Town Panchayats.[60]Besides the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, the Coimbatore urban agglomeration comprises the Town Panchayats of Vellalur, Irugur, Pallapalayam, Kannampalayam, Veerapandi, Periyanaickenpalayam, Narasimhanaickenpalayam, Idikarai, Vedapatti, Perur, Madukkarai, Ettimadai, Thondamuthur, Uliyampalayam, Thirumalayampalayam, Othakalmandapam, Alanthurai, Pooluvapatti, Thenkarai, Karumathampatti, Sarcarsamakulam, Mopperipalayam and Gudalur, census towns of Ashokapuram, Kurudampalayam, Malumichampatti, Selvapuram, Chettipalayam, Sulur, Chinniampalayam, Somayampalayam, Muthugoundan Pudur, Arasur, Kaniyur, Neelambur and municipalities of Kuniyamuthur, Kurichi and Goundampalayam.[61] These local bodies are in turn split into wards each electing a councillor through direct election. The head of these local bodies are elected by the respective councillors from amongst them.[56][62]

Coimbatore has traditionally been a stronghold of the Dravidian parties with national parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) also having a significant presence.[63][64][65] The city elects ten members to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and one member to the Indian Parliament. The six legislative assembly constituencies in the city are Coimbatore North, Coimbatore South, Kaundampalayam, Singanallur, Thondamuthur and Kinathukadavu which form a part of the Coimbatore Parliamentary Constituency. Part of the urban agglomeration comes under the Nilgiris and Pollachi constituencies. In the Indian general election held in 2019, CPI (M) candidate P.R. Natarajan defeated C. P. Radhakrishnan of the BJP in the Lok Sabha constituency.[66] In the last legislative assembly election held in 2021, the AIADMK led front won in all the assembly constituencies in the city.[67][68]

A major hub for manufacturing, education and healthcare in Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore is among the fastest growing tier-II cities in India.[71][72] It houses more than 25,000 small, medium and large industries with the primary industries being engineering and textiles. Coimbatore is called the "Manchester of South India" due to its extensive textile industry, fed by the surrounding cotton fields.[73][74] TIDEL Park Coimbatore in ELCOT SEZ was the first special economic zone (SEZ) set up in 2006.[75] In 2010, Coimbatore ranked 15th in the list of most competitive (by business environment) Indian cities.[76] Coimbatore also has a 160,000 square feet (15,000 m2) trade fair ground, built in 1999 and is owned by CODISSIA.[77]

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