• Source:JND
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Monsoon Updates: Anticipating bounteous rainfall over Karnataka once again, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert (extremely heavy rainfall) for June 23 in Shivamogga, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Davanagere and Mysuru districts. Additionally, an orange alert (very heavy rainfall) has been sounded over the next four days in Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu. During these days, the districts could also witness strong and gusty winds of 30 to 40 km per hour.

Notably, parts of south-interior Karnataka such as Shivamogga, Kodagu, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru districts have received less than half of their average rainfall for June until now.

While the southwest monsoon has covered the entire state, the volume of rainfall is well below the monthly average across Western Ghats districts, where catchment areas of some prominent rivers including Cauvery lie.

Monsoon Progression In India

The southwest monsoon moved into several areas of Gujarat, bringing much-needed relief from the extreme heat on June 21, Friday. Pre-monsoon showers may occur in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad over the weekend, even though the monsoon normally reaches these cities by June 25.

While the first monsoon rains in Maharashtra began to fall on June 4, there was an abrupt pause that left the state without rain until the beginning of this week.

At mean sea level, a trough now runs off the shores of south Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala. For the next five days, Gujarat, Konkan-Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, and Marathwada are likely to experience light to moderate rainfall that is sporadic to fairly widespread, along with thunderstorms and lightning.

Additionally, isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall may hit Maharashtra from June 21-25 and Gujarat on June 23.

Maharashtra Monsoon

Despite the arrival of the monsoon, June rainfall has been insufficient in half of Maharashtra, hampering sowing activities and intensifying a drought-like scenario that has existed for nearly a year. From June 1 to June 20, 18 districts (Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, Nandurbar, Hingoli, and Chandrapur) had largely deficient to deficient rainfall, according to IMD statistics.