October rainfall highest in state since 1993

The rainfall received by the state in October this year is the highest for the month since the last 26 years. During the year, the state overall received almost double the normal rainfall (84% above normal), the highest since 1993 when rainfall was 122% above normal.

An analysis by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) has also found that rainfall in the October 18-24 week was the highest weekly rainfall for any week of October in 48 years.

Speaking to DH, KSNDMC director G S Srinivasa Reddy said the heavy downpour influenced by cyclone Kyarr was among the primary reasons for the overall increase in rainfall during the month. Due to the same, Karnataka (as on Oct 29) as a whole received 241 mm against a normal of 131 mm. The highest variation in terms of rains was in coastal Karnataka which received 488 mm rainfall against an average of 180 mm.

"This is the highest rainfall in October since 1993," he said.

Apart from this, an analysis of weekly rainfall in October from 1971 revealed that the rainfall between October 18 and 24 this year was the highest.

"Against a normal rainfall of 26 mm during the week, we received 96 mm — which was a staggering 271% more than normal," Reddy said. The second-highest weekly rainfall during the 48-year period was in 2007, he said.

Coastal Karnataka — where rainfall usually subsides during the month of October — received almost three times the normal rainfall for the period. While the departure from normal rainfall was 207% (three times the normal) for Udupi, it was 98% and 241% respectively for Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts.

Similarly, the downpour lashed Malnad region too, triggering another round of floods in the third week of October.