Karnataka braces for widespread showers till rest of May as monsoon advances

With the southwest monsoon having arrived in Kerala and further advancing into some parts of Karnataka on Saturday, IMD predicts widespread showers across all three meteorological subdivisions in Karnataka until May 30.

The southwest monsoon set in over Kerala on Saturday, nearly eight days before the normal date of June 1. It also advanced over Coastal Karnataka and parts of South Interior Karnataka at the same time.

"The northern limit of Southwest Monsoon passed through Karwar, Shivamogga, Hassan and Mysuru of Karnataka and over Dharmapuri and Chennai of Tamil Nadu," said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Meteorological Centre.

It noted that conditions are favourable for further advancement over the state over the next two to three days.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall has been forecast across Karnataka until the end of this month. "We have forecast scattered heavy to very heavy rainfall over some parts of Coastal Karnataka, with isolated extremely heavy rainfall over some parts. Heavy to very heavy rainfall for Kodagu, Hassan, Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru and heavy rain with sustained winds (40-50 kmph) are likely to occur at one or two places at Bagalkot, Koppal, Gadag and Vijayapura districts over the next two days," N Puviarasan, head of the Meteorological Centre, told DH.

Cloudy skies in Bengaluru

Until May 26, Bengaluru is likely to have a generally cloudy sky, with moderate rain and thundershowers accompanied with gusty winds of 40-50 kmph speeds. Maximum and minimum temperatures are very likely to be around 27°C and 21°C respectively.

Bengaluru has also far exceeded the normal amounts of rainfall this season, from March 1.

According to the met centre, Bengaluru City observatory has recorded a cumulative 343 mm (34.3 cm) of rainfall since March 1, as against the normal of 205 mm (20.5 cm). Similarly, HAL airport station has recorded 365 mm (36.5 cm) rainfall against a normal of 235 mm (23.5 cm). Bengaluru KIA station has also recorded 289 mm or 28.9 cm rainfall.