BENGALURU: Strong winds blowing through Karnataka for the past couple of days may have only brought in nostalgic weather, but have done little to help revive the monsoon.
According to IMD data, winds are blowing at an average speed of 50-60kmph in most places, but the moisture content is very less. Wind speed is 50-60kmph in north interior Karnataka, 40-50kmph in south interior Karnataka and 40kmph in coastal Karnataka. No rain is forecast for the next seven days in most parts of the state.
In June and July, the Southwest monsoon showed a deficit of 28 per cent -- north interior Karnataka recorded 10 per cent deficit, coastal Karnataka 28 per cent deficit and south interior Karnataka 36 per cent deficit.
IMD Director, Karnataka, N Puviarasan said strong winds are a feature of the season, but are not carrying the required moisture to bring rain.
There is no trough or convergence, or synoptic conditions for rain to occur. Ideally, for the plains, moisture content in the wind should be around 55-60mm, and for hilly regions should be around 50mm water.
But in Karnataka, it is presently less than 40mm. Puviarasan explained that while the weather is pleasant, it is not helping revive the monsoon which has been poor this season, as was forecast due to the El Nino effect. In case of coastal Karnataka, there is an off-shore trough at the moment which is bringing rain. No heavy rainfall has been forecast over most parts of the state for the next seven days.
Also, as per data from Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), present storage in the 14 reservoirs of Karnataka is 473.55tmcft as on July 31; this time last year it was 722.49tmcft. Storage in the Cauvery basin, comprising Harangi, Hemavathi, KRS and Kabini is 66.98tmcft, while last year it was 106.41tmcft.
In the Krishna basin, comprising Bhadra, Tungabhadra, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, Almatti and Narayanapura dams, storage is 269.59tmcft, while last year it was 347.04tmcft.