Bangalore gasps under dry spell

Bangalore gasps under dry spell
Deccan Herald

If you are wondering why you are taking out an umbrella to block the sun rather than the rain this monsoon, here is the reason: Bangalore is reeling under a dry spell.


If you are wondering why you are taking out an umbrella to block the sun rather than the rain this monsoon, here is the reason: Bangalore is reeling under a dry spell. Though the situation is not yet drought-like, Bangalore has recorded a deficit rainfall of 291.5 mm this year against the normal expected rainfall of 440.8 mm.

As compared to the stormy days of September last year, when several low-lying areas in Bangalore were inundated due to heavy downpour, September this year will be “severely deficient” in rain. The rainfall recorded this month – till September 20 – was 35.9 mm, against 181 mm last year.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Meteorology Department Director A L Koppar said the State was experiencing a “contrasting monsoon” this year. The eastern regions of Karnataka especially have been deprived of a “normal” monsoon. A drought has been declared in 116 taluks in the State, including Anekal in Bangalore Urban and all taluks of Bangalore Rural. Also, 20.61 lakh hectares of sown area and three lakh hectares of unsown area for kharif crops have been affected due to the poor rainfall. “The weather pattern has developed differently this year, which is why interior Karnataka did not receive much rain. Only in the month of June, during the onset of the monsoon, did this region receive good rainfall,” added a meteorology department official.


However, coastal Karnataka, including Belgaum, Dharwad, Haveri, Shimoga, Hassan, Chikmagalur and Kodagu districts, have received good rainfall this year. In fact, the monsoon was stronger in north-interior Karnataka regions like Bidar, Gulbarga, Bijapur, Bhagalkote and Raichur districts, in the last fortnight.

According to Mr V S Prakash, director, Drought Monitoring Cell, the widespread rainfall witnessed in north-interior Karnataka from September 5 will facilitate the sowing of rabi crops. “Karnataka is the second-most drought-prone state in the country, after Rajasthan. Each year, the rainfall distribution reflects an east-west divide, resulting in half the State being declared drought-affected. Therefore, this year’s rainfall pattern is not surprising,” he said. Dr M P Rajegowda, agro-meteorology researcher at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, pointed out that the climatic divide developed only after 2002. He attributed the weak monsoon in interior Karnataka, including in Bangalore, to the more than normal rains received in the months of April and May. “Heavy rain during the summer months resulted in a cold weather and high pressure, blocking precipitation during the sowing season,” he explained.

Rainfall recorded in City

Month Rainfall (2005) Rainfall (2006)

June 108 mm 157 mm

July 3 mm 46.3 mm

August 229 mm 51 mm

September1 81 mm 35.9 mm*

* Till September 19