Parts of Karnataka, including capital Bengaluru, will continue to face an extended period of rains in the coming days, well beyond the monsoon season that ended in September, the Indian Meteorological Department has said. A yellow warning has been issued for Bengaluru, suggesting heavy rainfall (64.5mm-115.5mm), for October 11 and 12. Other than Bengaluru Urban and Rural, a yellow warning has also been issued for Tumkur, Shivamogga, Chikkaballapura, Chikkamagaluru Ramanagara, Kolar, Kodagu Belagavi, Bagalkot, Gadag and Vijaypura, for October 11 and 12.
All three coastal districts Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada are expected to receive heavy rainfall on October 13-15. The Indian Meteorological Department, in its statewide forecast on Sunday, October 10, said, “Heavy rainfall likely to occur over Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Koppal, Raichur and Gadag districts of North Interior Karnataka and Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Kodagu, Kolar, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Tumakuru, Chikkaballapura and Ramanagara districts of South Interior Karnataka.”
Thunderstorms with lightning are likely to occur at isolated places over the state. The IMD said southwest monsoon is active over North-interior Karnataka and is normal over coastal Karnataka and South-interior Karnataka. Three IMD stations in north interior Karnataka recorded heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours, while one station in coastal Karnataka saw heavy rainfall.
Geeta Agnihotri, a scientist at IMD Bengaluru, said the rains are due to cyclonic circulation over the east-central Arabian Sea and a low pressure area over the Andamans. An expert at Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) said that this rainfall is not very unusual or a new trend. Data recorded by KSNDMC shows there has been 28% excess rainfall for the month of October (1-9) for Bengaluru. While the normal is 61 mm of rainfall, the city has got 77.9 mm. State-wide, the excess rainfall was 37% so far for the same period.