The South-West Monsoon has gone weak even before it could cover all parts of the state. Though the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts rains over the next 48 hours, the initial good spell of rain has been lost.
The IMD’s figures released to Deccan Chronicle on Monday shows that south-interior Karnataka had 73% deficit rainfall, while north-interior Karnataka and coastal Karnataka 84% and 45% respectively. In the last 11 days, the three coastal districts of Udupi, Dakshin Kannada and Uttar Kannada have received 119 mm rainfall, a huge shortfall as compared to the average of 217.9 mm for the period. Similarly, the north-interior Karnataka, covering 11 districts, has received 5.7 mm rainfall as against an average of 34.4 mm. The south-interior Karnataka, which comprises 16 districts including Bengaluru Rural and Urban, has received 12.1 mm, while the rain gauge should have read 44.6 mm.
Director-in-charge, IMD Bengaluru, B. Puttanna said, “The monsoon has entered a weak phase in the state. It arrived in Kerala and Karnataka on June 5, but later it did not advance the way it was expected to. Strong winds in the second week of June deterred cloud formation and further precipitation. Two weather systems over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea are expected to bring rains across the state in the next two days.”