Rain plays truant in Bengaluru, puts Med department’s predictions to test

Bengaluru: If "fickle English weather" is what one would normally associate with ‘Old Blighty', then Bengalureans had their brush with a mercurial day as rain played truant for most of Monday, catching just about everyone in the city on the wrong foot.
To add to that, there was much confusion early in the morning as the Bengaluru Urban district administration suddenly announced a holiday for schools, citing ‘yellow' and ‘orange' alerts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Hang on. We aren't done.
Contrary to the forecast, overcast skies gradually gave way to bright sunshine that held on for most of the day!
"The moment IMD issues a warning, the skies clear up and rains go away! I have seen this a lot for Bangalore over the past four-five years," posted Aayush Basavesh on the micro-blogging site X. Yet another social media user reacted sharply, saying: "How do we trust them with our lives when it comes to weather timings? They can't even get the next three hours right!"
As the discussions gained momentum, citizens suggested that IMD forecasts should be read with a pinch of salt.
"I wonder why we shouldn't start reading IMD predictions in the opposite way? It works accurately … it was pouring in the wee hours, and as soon as the prediction came, the rains stopped with clear skies and bright sun," said a citizen.
The sarcastic and not-so-sarcastic comments over the accuracy of rain forecasts notwithstanding, IMD scientists maintained they were meticulous in their predictions with whatever technology they had at their disposal.
"If there was a Doppler radar in Bengaluru, the accuracy could have been verified further," explained a senior IMD official.
Weighing in on the issue, Union minister and Bangalore North MP Shobha Karandlaje said: "I got the radar sanctioned from the Centre for Bengaluru, but the state govt's inability in allocation of suitable land [for setting up the equipment] has led to a delay."
CS Patil, scientist and director, IMD Bengaluru, said their forecasts are based on satellite imagery, mathematical models, and historical climate data. "What was issued on Monday morning (orange alert) was only a ‘nowcast' for administrative purposes and not the actual forecast. Rainfall is a highly variable parameter and doesn't happen uniformly at all locations. If it did not rain in Bengaluru, it does not mean that IMD forecasts are incorrect," Patil reasoned.
Further clarifying the point, he added: "The wind pattern, temperature, and local conditions could have swept the rain-bearing clouds to other locations."
2 days of yellow alert
Meanwhile, IMD Bengaluru sounded a yellow alert (heavy rainfall) over Bengaluru and other parts of South Interior Karnataka districts until Wednesday. "We have identified an upper air circulation off the coast of Tamil Nadu, under which, Bengaluru and its adjoining districts are witnessing rainfall. This will go on for the next two days, and then gradually come down," Patil explained.