BENGALURU: RAINFALL has continued to elude parts of Karnataka during the past couple of weeks, raising concerns of another drought year. Forecast for the remainder of the month too is grim, as rainfall is expected to be deficient during the period. Till August 14, rainfall has been deficient by 33 per cent.
As a result, inflow to reservoirs in parts of South interior Karnataka, especially KRS, will continue to be low for the remainder of the month. Low water levels at the reservoir might result in water shortage in several districts, including Bengaluru Urban.
After good rains in June, major catchment areas located in Malnad region have received poor showers in July and the first fortnight of August. Similar conditions have been observed in the coastal region. As of August 14, monsoon rainfall has been deficient in both the regions by 20 per cent or more.
Though North interior Karnataka and South interior Karnataka enjoyed good showers during the first two months of the South West monsoon, rains have reduced during August. Speaking to Express, S S M Gavaskar, scientist at Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell (KSNDMC), said that rainfall has reduced during the last few days. “We might not get good rains until the end of August,” he said, adding that rainfall is likely to be deficient for the month. “We are not yet sure about how rainfall will be in September,” he said.
During the monsoon season, rainfall has been less by 27 per cent in Malnad region. While the region receives an average of 1,347 mm rainfall between June 1 and August 14, it has received 983 mm. Similarly, in the coastal region, rainfall is less by 20 per cent, which is equivalent to about 500 mm rainfall. While the average for the region is 2,558 mm for the said period, it received 2,042 mm.As a result, more than half of the 43 taluks with deficient rainfall during the monsoon season are from Malnad and coastal districts.