BHUBANESWAR: After an almost sunny Tuesday, Bhubaneswar was pounded by showers on Wednesday afternoon. In about two hours, the Capital was struggling to cope up with water-logging as the rainfall record showed 95 mm.Considering that the depression over Bay of Bengal had weakened and moved into land, such huge - yet localised - rainfall was unexpected because southern Odisha districts were predicted to be lashed by heavy downpour.
Such was the intensity of rain near Biju Patnaik International Airport region that a part of the boundary near OUAT side caved in.The weather office said, the warm conditions led to convection activities which triggered such huge rainfall within a short span. “It is almost like a Norwester phenomenon when such heavy showers are reported. The surface temperature and incursion of moisture lead to such showers,” said Director, India Meteorological Department, Odisha SC Sahu. It had happened at Cuttack on Monday, when the city recorded 154 mm rain.
However, convection activity may not be the only factor, Sahu says. Pollution leading to presence of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the atmosphere also leads to such unexpected heavy spells of rain.The chemical compounds do not disintegrate so easily in the atmosphere and reserve energy. When they dissolve, they dissipate fast and cause heavy rainfall. “The rainfall recorded in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday or in Cuttack on Monday match the normal rain of three to four days taken together,” Sahu added.
Airport boundary wall caves in
Bhubaneswar: A part of the operational boundary wall of Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) collapsed following heavy rains which lashed the City on Wednesday. The incident occurred on the north-west end of the airfield which was reported by security personnel deployed at the watch towers. By evening, after the reports were confirmed, Airport Director SC Hota deputed a team of Civil Engineers which rushed to the spot and worked till late night for repairing the damaged portion. “The wall is located on the perimeter of the airport on the Pokhariput-Kargil Slum end. Inundation of the boundary wall has not affected airport operations, Hota told Express. The Civil Engineering wing of BPIA made makeshift arrangement with tin sheets for barricading the inundated portion. There is adequate lighting and manpower in place and an additional unit of CISF has been mobilised to ensure full-proof security, added Hota.