City, state get just quarter of average rain

Close to two months after the onset of the monsoon, Bengaluru has not received even one fourth of the average monsoon rains.

On an average, Bengaluru gets 549.6 mm rain during the four-month monsoon season (June 1 to September 30). This year, the city has received just 60.5 mm rain in the first two months as against 401 mm in 2016 and 179 mm in 2015 for the same period. India Meteorological Department (IMD) Bengaluru director-in-charge Sunder M Metri, while expressing concern over the decreasing rainfall in the city, expressed hope that it will improve in the next two months.

According to him, the south west monsoon is all about wind patterns and currents. Low pressure in the coastal areas and in surface areas plays a vital role. These factors have not been constant this year so far. The IMD head office had forecast good monsoon with an average of 98% this year.

If data of the last three years is compared, then it shows that the city received good rainfall in 2014 with 694 mm. But it declined in 2015 and 2016. Normally, during this season (June to September), rainfall is good in the Ghats and coastal areas. South interior Karnataka, including Bengaluru, receives good rainfall during the north east monsoon (October-November) and at the end of the south west monsoon season (in September). Thus, all hope is not lost, Metri explained.

The state as a whole received 349 mm rainfall against the normal of 429 mm, which is a deficit of 19%.