Vehicles navigating a waterlogged street at Hennur on Monday, following the overnight downpour.
DH PHOTO/BK JANARDHAN
Bengaluru: This May is on track to become the wettest in Bengaluru’s recorded history, likely surpassing 2023’s record of 30.5 cm of rainfall.
As of May 19, the city has already received 24.6 cm of rain, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). With over 10 days remaining and more rain forecast, Meteorological Centre head N Puviarasan believes the record will fall soon.
"In another two days, we might cross the 30-cm mark. This May could become the wettest ever,” he told DH.
In May 2023, the IMD’s Bengaluru City observatory recorded 30.5 cm of rain, breaking a 66-year-old record of 28.7 cm set in 1957. This year’s numbers are set to breach that, well above the monthly average of 128.7 mm recorded since 2015.
Since 2015, excluding 2023, May rainfall averaged 18.5 cm, with the lowest at 13 cm in both 2020 and 2021.
From March 1 to May 19, the Bengaluru City observatory has recorded 290 mm (29 cm) of rain — 172 mm above normal. The city’s annual total so far has reached 30 cm, nearly one-third of the usual 98 cm expected in an entire year.
The Bengaluru HAL airport observatory recorded 312 mm of rain this season, 200 mm above normal, while the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) weather station logged 282 mm between March and May 19.
Puviarasan attributed the intense showers to a system over the Bay of Bengal.
"Usually, we get this kind of rain after the monsoon onset. But this year, monsoon-like circulations arrived early,” he explained.
The IMD has forecast extreme rainfall (over 20 cm) for Tuesday and Wednesday across South Interior, North Interior, and Coastal Karnataka. “After that, the system will weaken, and the southwest monsoon winds will begin strengthening,” Puviarasan added.
Maximum and minimum temperatures in Bengaluru are expected to remain around 27°C-28°C and 20°C, respectively, until Wednesday.
Rainfall stats
Bengaluru city: 129.8 mm
HAL airport: 89.7 mm
KIA: 44.4 mm
GKVK: 117.6 mm
(From 8.30 am on Sunday-8.30 pm on Monday)
Rainfall in May
Bengaluru city: 270.3 mm
HAL airport: 239.3 mm
KIA: 168.2 mm
GKVK: 276.6 mm