IMD sounds orange alert for Bengaluru: thunderstorms, lightning likely in parts of Karnataka
Despite entering mid-May with a stark 57 per cent pre-monsoon rainfall deficit, Bengaluru is set for a major weather turnaround this week.
Bengaluru is bracing for rain ahead of the onset of Southwest Monsoon (File photo). Ahead of the onset of the Southwest Monsoon, parts of interior Karnataka are bracing for a spell of heavy rainfall, with the weather department forecasting isolated hailstorms. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for several parts of the state, including Bengaluru, for Monday.
A yellow alert for thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds will remain in place across the region until Thursday.
During the intervening hours of Sunday and Monday, several parts of the capital city received trace amounts of rainfall. According to the Bengaluru weather dashboard, 157 civic wards recorded light drizzle, with the highest rainfall at 0.7 mm.
Bengaluru Urban has had relatively few pre-monsoon showers this year. Until April 19, Bengaluru had recorded a staggering rainfall deficit of 85.8 per cent, receiving just 5.6 mm of rainfall against a historical monthly average of around 40 mm.
While that dry spell was briefly offset by an intense, isolated deluge at the end of April, during which parts of central Bengaluru were battered by 111 mm of rain in a matter of hours, resulting in seven casualties, the broader drought-like conditions persisted into the next month.
The deficit has carried heavily into May. The city has received an average of only 20.9 mm of rainfall up to May 17, marking a 57 per cent deficit. According to data from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), Bengaluru typically receives around 95 mm of rainfall in May.
The dry conditions are not isolated to the IT hub. Nearly half of Karnataka’s districts have recorded rainfall deficits during the pre-monsoon season which commenced in March.
This dry spell stands in stark contrast to the pre-monsoon conditions recorded last year, when large swathes of the state received more than twice their normal rainfall.
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