Bengaluru Wait For Monsoon Showers Gets Longer: Least Rainfall Since Onset Of Monsoon
Tech city Bengaluru has been starving for monsoon rains. Despite the early onset of the monsoon, the capital city continues to record a significant rain deficit. Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts both have a shortfall of about 60% or even more.
There has been hardly any rainfall in the catchment areas either, to help fill the surrounding water bodies. There is no likelihood of any decent rain over the next 10 days or so. Rather, it may remain excruciatingly dry beyond mid-July. The city may face water scarcity, as it has on some earlier occasions as well.
The month of June witnessed very poor rainfall, with the city observatory recording just 21 mm against the normal of 106.5 mm. The paucity of rainfall has continued into July and has worsened. The city has recorded only 2.1 mm of rainfall in the first nine days, against a modest monthly total of 112.9 mm. The concern is that there are no signs of intensification in monsoon activity. Last year, Bengaluru recorded massive rainfall of 204.1 mm in July, coming very close to the all-time high of 228.6 mm recorded in 1996. In contrast, July 2012 was an extremely dry month when the city struggled for a few showers and recorded a historic low of just 7.2 mm of rainfall.
There is no weather system over Peninsular India, including either side of the coastline, to enhance rainfall activity. Even some other pockets like Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh are having a terrible season with a massive shortfall. The reserves gathered earlier by Tamil Nadu and Kerala are also being consumed due to the extended lull in monsoon activity. Over the next seven days, the city may not see even isolated showers, worsening the situation until mid-July. Beyond that, there could be light sprinkles on a few days in some parts of the city and suburbs, but nowhere near enough to compensate for the deficits incurred so far.
