Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Assesses Damage Caused By Heavy Rains In Capital City

Heavy rains were reported in the Karnataka capital of Bengaluru on Sunday resulting in severe waterlogging. Watch the video here.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday (21 May) assessed the damage caused by heavy rain in Bengaluru and expressed his condolences on the death of a 23-year-old woman who drowned in a waterlogged subway in the city's KR Circle area. Heavy rain and hailstorms pounded the capital city, causing severe flooding in several areas. Rains disrupted residents' normal activities in various parts of the city. Trees were uprooted in several locations, and severe flooding was observed. People who were trapped in the subway were safely rescued and transported to the hospital, ANI reported. 

The arrival of the monsoon over Kerala is expected to be delayed this year, with the arrival date set for June 4, four days later than the normal date of June 1, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

"Normally, the southwest monsoon arrives over Kerala on June 1 with a standard deviation of about 7 days. Since 2005, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has been issuing operational forecasts for the date of monsoon onset over Kerala. For this purpose, an indigenously developed state-of-the-art statistical model with a model error of +- 4 days is used," IMD stated.

Last year, the monsoon over Kerala arrived on May 29, two days after the IMD forecast on May 27. Except for 2015, operational forecasts of the date of monsoon onset over Kerala were proven to be correct over the past 18 years (2005-2022), according to the IMD.

"The six monsoon onset predictors used in the models are: i)Minimum temperatures over Northwest India ii) South Peninsula pre-monsoon rainfall peak Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) over the South China Sea (iv) Lower tropospheric zonal wind over the Southeast Indian Ocean (v) Mean sea level pressure over the Subtropical NW Pacific Ocean (vi) Upper tropospheric zonal wind over the North East Indian Ocean," according to an IMD press release.

The southwest monsoon over the Indian mainland is distinguished by monsoon onset over Kerala, which serves as an important indicator of the transition from a hot and dry season to a rainy season.