Many districts in south interior Karnataka are expected to see heavy rainfall (64.5-115.5 mm) for four days starting from Wednesday, October 20, until Saturday, October 23. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow warning for the four days. The districts that are expected to see heavy rainfall include Bengaluru, Chamarajanagara, Chikkaballapura, Hassan, Kodagu, Kolar, Mandya, Mysuru, Ramanagara, Shivamogga and Tumakuru.
The IMD has sounded a yellow alert for the coastal districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada from October 21 till October 24. Further, the IMD said that thunderstorms with lightning are likely at isolated places over all districts of south interior Karnataka from October 20 to October 23.
These rains come after Bengaluru and other parts in the region have been receiving regular showers since the beginning of the month due to the influence of multiple factors, including a prolonged monsoon. Geeta Agnihotri, Scientist at IMD Bengaluru, said the rains are due to a system that is developing over the coast of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
While rains in the month of October are not rare, this year the post-monsoon rainfall has been in excess. According to data recorded by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, until October 18 the state received 46% excess rainfall. While the normal rainfall is 89 mm for the period October 1-October 18, the state has recorded 130 mm in October this year. For Bengaluru, the excess rainfall is more pronounced, with 125% more than normal rainfall recorded for the month so far.
Similarly, there has been 24% excess rainfall for the year statewide. While the normal rainfall across the state is around 600.5 mm for the same time period, the state has received 743.7 mm of rainfall.
Parts of south India have been experiencing heavy rainfall for the past few days. In Kerala, devastating floods and landslides triggered by incessant rains have claimed the lives of at least 24 people and left hundreds homeless. In Tamil Nadu, southern districts including Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Thoothukodi and others saw heavy rainfall, and flash flood alerts were sounded in the state. Parts of Telangana were also affected by rains last week, with several roads and neighbourhoods becoming inundated.