The month of May is characterized by moderately hot weather and infrequent rains in Bangalore but fortunately or unfortunately this month saw these rains becoming more frequent than usual in the city.
Figures show that Bangalore received excess rainfall of 33% in just a week’s (16th May to 22nd May 2013) time. “It is common for Bangalore to receive light showers accompanied by thunder in May but continuous rain and strong winds are a little less likely. The rainy weather maintained all throughout the month due to a continuous wind discontinuity/trough along south Karnataka and Kerala.”
It is due to this wind discontinuity that the entire south interior Karnataka has also witnessed a normal pre monsoon season (from March to May) with 107.5mm of rainfall so far. The normal figure is 115.7mm.
But while one part of Karnataka is receiving normal to excess rainfall, the rest of Karnataka is observing a stark contrast in the weather conditions. North interior Karnataka is currently reeling under severe drought like situations which show little signs of improvements. Reports also reveal, extreme hot weather continues in North Karnataka and the region has witnessed a rainfall deficit of 66% in this month. In districts of Bidar and Belgaon the deficit has been recorded up to a whopping 80%.
Though rain has occurred in north interior Karnataka in the last few days, but it has only been scattered. The highest so far recorded in the region was at Harobelavadi village in Dharwad tluk which received 85mm of rainfall on Sunday, 26th May. Moderate rain was recorded in Gadag in the last 24hrs, but was again quite diffused.
With the South-West Monsoon rapidly advancing northwestwards into parts of South-West and East-Central Bay of Bengal, there are possibilities that it may enter Bangalore around its arrival date (5th June). With the monsoon arrival, hopes of it filling the pre monsoon deficit gap in north interior Karnataka are also high.
Photo by Shama.
