Monsoon gains steam, red alert sounded in parts of Karnataka

The southwest monsoon that has covered the entire country has also gained steam in Karnataka, with many parts of the State being issued red, orange, and yellow alerts for the coming days.

This week, red alert (extremely heavy rainfall) has been sounded for all of Coastal Karnataka (Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada) and parts of South Interior Karnataka (Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Kodagu) for July 17. Orange alert (very heavy rainfall) has been issued for many parts of the State for Thursday and Friday, including all of Coastal Karnataka, and on Friday and Saturday for parts of North Interior Karnataka, including Belagavi, Dharwad, and Haveri. Yellow alert, indicating heavy rainfall, has been issued to parts of North Interior Karnataka and South Interior Karnataka for Thursday.

India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru, director C.S. Patil said on Wednesday too, most parts of the State recorded widespread rainfall, with the chief amounts being recorded in parts of Coastal Karnataka. “Under the influence of existing systems, Coastal, North Interior and South Interior Karnataka are expected to experience widespread rainfall till July 18,” he said.

“Bengaluru is very likely to experience rain with maximum temperature of 25°C and minimum temperature of 20°C during the next two days. Surface wind would be strong and gusty at times,” he added.

The monsoon had slackened recently, worrying large sections, especially the agricultural sector, as deficit rainfall was reported in many parts despite the State as a whole recording 12% more rainfall than usual in June as per IMD data. But the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre had said that between June 26 and July 2, rainfall across the State was 58% below normal. The prolonged rainless days had seen standing crops in parts of the State withering, sowing under rainfed conditions affected, and reduced inflow into the major reservoirs.

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