Low pressure in Bay of Bengal to intensify monsoon in state

The southwest monsoon will intensify in parts of interior Karnataka during the week.

A low-pressure region is forecast in Bay of Bengal for June 8 or 9, resulting in fairly widespread rainfall in interior Karnataka districts including Bengaluru Urban while intensifying rainfall in coastal Karnataka and Malnad region.

The encouraging forecast for agricultural sector in the state came in the wake of good pre-monsoon showers.

G S Sreenivasa Reddy, Director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell (KSNDMC) told DH that monsoon will intensify in the entire state from June 10 due to the effect of the low-pressure region in Bay of Bengal. “Both coastal and interior districts will receive good rainfall upto June 13,” he said.

During the course of the week, the Northern Limit of Monsoon - now passing through Karwar, Shivamogga and Tumakuru in the state, is expected to cover the entire state.

According to data available, Karnataka received normal rainfall during the first week of monsoon and during the pre-monsoon season. In the first week of monsoon season, Karnataka received 44 mm rainfall against a normal of 36 mm. Though there is a slight deficit in rainfall in South Interior Karnataka region, it will be bridged quickly as monsoon progressed, Reddy said.

During the pre-monsoon from March 1 to May 31, Karnataka recorded 123 mm rainfall against a normal of 125 mm. Rainfall was 10% above normal in South Interior Karnataka, while it was 14% less in coastal and 11% less in North Interior Karnataka region.