BENGALURU: Here’s good news for farmers: There will be plentiful rain this year too. Karnataka is likely to get normal rainfall for the fourth consecutive year, private met agency Skymet has predicted. But experts pointed out that they will have to wait and watch the uniform rainfall pattern across the state. This year, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted more rain during the summer.
Former director of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) and consultant Srinivasa Reddy told TNIE that usually, after two years of normal rainfall, there is a tendency for a deficit monsoon, or the other way around. But in Karnataka, since 2019, the state has had normal rainfall, sometimes above normal too. However, he said the IMD is expected to release its forecast in a week, and a clearer picture of the monsoon will emerge.
Since 2000 till 2018 or 2019, Karnataka has been under drought for 15 of the 18 years. But things have changed, and some parts of the state even experienced floods. Prof MB Rajegowda, agrometeorologist and former Registrar, University of Agriculture Sciences (UAS), explained that in Karnataka, normal rainfall during the South-West Monsoon is in the range of 850-870mm. For the past couple of years, the state has seen normal or above normal rainfall.
It could be a normal monsoon
“In the rainfall pattern, we are in the half of the positive cycle, where each cycle is 16 years. This also means that the state, which has witnessed four consecutive years of normal rainfall, could see normal monsoons for the next couple of years,’’ Prof MB Rajegowda, agrometeorologist and former Registrar, University of Agriculture Sciences (UAS) said. Farmers can go for normal, long duration crops, he added. In 2021, most parts of the state received good pre-monsoon showers.
This year too, similar rainfall is expected. In some places, including Mysuru and Chamarajanagara and parts of North Karnataka, farmers are opting for pre-monsoon crops. “With pre-monsoon rain expected to be good, farmers can go for 80-day crops (short duration crops) like green gram, black gram, sesame, horse gram and more. This starts in mid-March,” he added.