BENGALURU: At a time when the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a 5% above normal rainfall this south-west monsoon across India, weather officials in Karnataka have cautioned more rain for south-interior Karnataka, especially in urban pockets like Bengaluru, owing to local weather convections.
The monsoon is likely to hit the Kerala coast on May 27, five days earlier than its normal onset date of June 1. Director of IMD-Bengaluru N Puviarasan told The New Indian Express that the long-range forecast has been issued for the entire country based on global climatology factors. Excess rainfall has been predicted over south interior Karnataka.The local effects--increasing heat islands and urbanisation— will also play a role in the amount of rainfall.
Puviarasan further said that rising temperatures also play a crucial role in influencing rainfall. Last year, the maximum temperature recorded in Bengaluru was around 36 degrees Celsius in May. This year, it is hovering around 33 degrees Celsius. At the moment, pre-monsoon showers are very good in most parts of Karnataka, but not so much in Bengaluru.
Other districts, including Belagavi, are experiencing very heavy rainfall. According to the data available, Karnataka received 86.4mm of rainfall in May 2023 as against the normal forecast of 73.7mm. In May 2024, the state received 118 mm.
Further, Bengaluru recorded 181.5mm in May 2024 and 305.4mm in May 2023. According to weather expert Prof MB Rajegowda, the increased rainfall in the state should be well utilised by farmers and agrarian regions for increasing cultivation. Farmers can go for long-duration crop varieties, he suggested.
Explaining the scenario in Bengaluru, Rajegowda said that increased heat layers will draw more clouds. “Precipitation was 600 mm in the 1950s, and now it is 1,000 mm. Summer heat has intensified, and so has the rain,” he elaborated.
However, officials from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Authority said pre-monsoon showers have already started. Intense rainfall in urban areas coupled with flooding seems to have become the new normal now, an official said. The official added that models show that coastal and north interior Karnataka will also experience heavy rainfall.