The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rain for parts of Karnataka till the end of October with the advancement of the northeast monsoon, with an orange alert issued for south interior Karnataka and coastal Karnataka till Thursday owing to the formation of a low-pressure area over the Southwest Bay of Bengal.
Another low-pressure area is forecast for Friday, and it is likely to intensify into a cyclone. Under the effect of these conditions, heavy rainfall is forecast for Bengaluru and other parts of the state over the course of the coming week.
On Tuesday, the IMD upgraded a yellow alert issued for south interior and coastal Karnataka to an orange alert, indicating that very heavy rain is likely. Favourable conditions for heavy rain have persisted in the regions owing to showers caused by the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon on October 15, followed by the onset of the northeast monsoon on October 16, four days ahead of its normal date.
According to data from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), 16 of the 31 districts in the state have received good rain, while the rain has been deficient in the northern parts.
Districts in south interior Karnataka and the Malnad region have received 30 per cent more rainfall than normal. “Though north interior Karnataka has received deficit rainfall till date, favourable rain conditions in the coming days are forecast to bridge the deficit in the coming days,” said a meteorologist at the KSNDMC.
On Tuesday, several parts of the state, including Bengaluru, received light to moderate showers in the afternoon. The rain was heavy in parts of coastal Karnataka, where more than 60 mm of rainfall was recorded by the KSNDMC.