Brace for more rain today, tomorrow across Karnataka

BENGALURU: The weather office has sounded an alert for the entire state over the next two days and has advised people to be cautious as heavy showers are expected in most parts of Karnataka as the South-West monsoon has intensified. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also advised the district authorities to evacuate people living in low-lying and vulnerable areas to safer locations.

A low-pressure area over the central parts of the Bay of Bengal is likely to concentrate into a depression by Thursday and into a deep depression on Friday, said IMD director in-charge C S Patil. A trough over peninsular India at a 15 degree latitude is likely to cause heavy rainfall over coastal and north-interior Karnataka.

The formation of these weather systems has prolonged the South-West monsoon as a result of which the onset of the North-East monsoon has been delayed, Patil said. This means that most of parts of Karnataka will experience rain in October and November, as the state experiences North-East monsoon showers as well. 

Patil said that it is unusual for the state to experience such heavy rain in October as the South-West monsoon sets in by early June and retreats by September. Most districts saw excess rainfall as on October 21. Only four districts – Udupi, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Mysuru – saw a deficit. The Karnataka received 19.2 mm rainfall up to 8.30 am on October 21 against the normal of 3.4 mm. The seasonal cumulative total is 154.4 mm against the normal of 99.9.