BENGALURU: For the first time in more than one-and-a-half decades, the southwest monsoon officially entered Karnataka on Saturday, nearly 10 days ahead of schedule, which is normally the first week of June.
According to CS Patil, Director, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru, monsoon entered Kerala, the rainy season’s first port of call, too on Saturday, the same day as Karnataka.
According to IMD, the northern limit of the monsoon passes through Karwar and Shivamogga in Karnataka, Dharmapuri and Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Saiha in Mizoram.
He said south-interior Karnataka comprising Bengaluru Urban and Rural, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Vijayanagara, Ballari, Kolar, Hassan, Tumakuru, Chikkaballapur, Mysuru, Bengaluru South (formerly Ramanagara) and Mandya will witness normal rainfall this season. North-interior Karnataka districts, comprising Dharwad, Belagavi, Gadag, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Koppal, Vijayapura, Haveri, Yadgir and Raichur, and coastal districts of Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi will witness above normal rain this season.
According to IMD, southwest monsoon is likely to cover some more parts of Karnataka on May 26.
The weather agency has also forecast extreme heavy rain to heavy to very heavy rain/thundershowers with sustained winds (30-40 kmph) at a few places of Karnataka for the next seven days.
Karnataka’s date with the monsoon has varied noticeably over the past few years. In 2024, the monsoon is expected to arrive on May 31, earlier than in 2023 when it came on June 8. The 2022 monsoon was significantly delayed, arriving only on June 29, while in 2021, it set in on June 3.