BENGALURU: With 21 days still left in October and weather experts forecasting another week of intense rain spells, Bengaluru is headed for the wettest October in at least over the past two decades.
From October 1 to 9, Bengaluru Urban district recorded 78mm rain as against the normal 61mm, excess of 28%, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) On October 4, the city recorded 66mm of rain, the highest 24-hour rain recorded during the month. While 35 rain gauging stations in the city registered more than 100mm from October 1 to 9, 23 stations recorded 66mm rain in 24 hours on October 4. Nagarabhavi recorded 117 mm, the highest on October 4. With more rain expected over the next two weeks, the city may break all previous records, experts say.
During the southwest monsoon (June 1 to September 30), Bengaluru Urban district received 468mm rain as against the normal 471mm. These figures are regarded as normal because plus or minus 19 is considered normal.
In July, the district recorded the highest rainfall of 162 mm as against the normal rainfall of 94
mm. “It’s 72 per cent higher and the highest rainfall for the month since 1961,’’ said Manoj Rajan, commissioner, KSNDMC. While in June, the district recorded excess rain of 20%, the city received 107mm as against the normal 123mm in August, a 13% deficit.
CYCLONE IMPACT, CLIMATE CHANGE
While KSNMDC and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials have said a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal have resulted in heavy rain during October, some experts indicated global warming and climate change as influential factors that impacted the rainfall scenario in the country and the state during monsoon 2020. Weather scientist PK Suresha said due to fluctuation in weather patterns due to climate change, intense and heavy downpour has been reported instead of the steady rain.
