Cumulative rainfall above normal in Mysuru region since October 1

The northeast monsoon is active in the Mysuru belt comprising the districts of Mysuru, Mandya and Chamarajanagar, and the cumulative rainfall from October 1 to 13 is above normal.

This follows a relatively dry September though the net rainfall received between June 1 and September 30 was above long period average due to heavy rains from June through August.

According to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), the northeast monsoon season stretches from October to December and contributes 28 per cent of the annual rainfall in South Interior Karnataka region which includes the Mysuru belt.

While south interior Karnataka generally does not receive heavy rains due to northeast monsoon, the quantum of rainfall have been higher than normal this year and has been abetted by the depression in the Bay of Bengal.

Mysuru district has received 66 mm of rainfall from October 1 to 13 which is 5 per cent above long period average for the same period. Mandya has received 87 mm of rains which is 17 per cent above normal while Chamarajangar has received 114 mm which is 55 per cent above normal. The rainfall during the NE-Monsoon season is reckoned to be important for the later stages of Kharif crops and Rabi crops.

However, the rains have not been widespread or uniform and there are taluks within Mysuru and Mandya districts where the rainfall is under deficit category which means the shortfall ranges from 20 per cent below normal to 59 per cent below normal.

This includes Periyapatna which has received rains 51 mm of rain which is 21 per cent below normal for the period October 1 to 13, Hunsur (45 mm) where the departure is 32 per cent below normal and Saligrama which received 48 mm of rains which is 25 per cent below normal, according to KSNDMC. K.R. Pet, Mandya and Pandavapura are the taluks in Mandya district where the rainfall has been categorized as deficit for the period October 1 to 13.

KRS, Kabini reservoirs full

Meanwhile, the storage positions in the four major reservoirs in the region as on October 13, 2024 was 96 per cent of the installed gross capacity. While the cumulative gross storage capacity of KRS, Hemavathi, Kabini and Harangi is 114.57 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft.), the available storage was 109.88 tmc ft. and both KRS and Kabini reservoirs were full. The cumulative storage in the four reservoirs on the same day last year was 66.12 tmc ft.

According to KSNDMC, the available storage in the KRS was 49.45 tmc ft. against the gross storage capacity of 49.45 tmc ft. The water level was at the maximum height of 124.80 ft. This is in contrast to 23.38 tmc ft. of water that was available on the same day last year. Hemavathi had 33.96 tmc ft. against the gross capacity of 37.10 tmc ft., Kabini had 19.48 tmc ft. against the maximum capacity of 19.52 tmc ft., while Harangi had 7.35 tmc ft. against the gross storage capacity of 8.50 tmc ft., according to KSNDMC.

Published - October 14, 2024 06:50 pm IST