When will it rain? Varuna Mitra helpline flooded with citizen calls

Citizens anticipating respite from the sweltering heat are flooding the state-run Varuna Mitra helpline with queries on rainfall.

Phone calls to the helpline, functioning out of the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell (KSNDMC), have already crossed over one lakh since February while the helpline received only 50,000 calls in the corresponding period in 2020. Callers ask about the possibility of rains both in Bengaluru and in the rest of the state.

The 24X7 service gives scientific forecast and information regarding rainfall. Dr CN Prabhu, who is in charge of the helpline, said unprecedented rain in January and February in certain parts of the state had been one reason why the queries were high this year.

“After hailstorms in a few districts earlier this year, people, especially farmers are confused about the showers. Whenever they hear some news about rain or see a forwarded alert on social media, they call here to get authentic information” Dr Prabhu explained.

At times, the helpline has even handled about 5,000 calls a day. “Comparatively, the number of calls received this year is higher than the previous years,” he said. Almost all calls, according to officials, are about one question: when is it going to rain?

Although the temperature in regions like Kalaburagi reached 40 degrees Celsius as early as in March-April, meteorologists say it is still normal for the season.

Another KSNDMC scientist S S M Gavaskar said: “It’s possible that low-pressure areas could develop over the Bay of Bengal, which is likely to have an impact in this part of the peninsular region. There could be a few spells of light to moderate rains in the coming week in many parts of the state.”