Bengaluru weather: More rains, heavy downpour in store for India’s ‘silicon valley’; IT sector faces chaos

Bengaluru weather: Heavy to very heavy rainfall is predicted over a few places in coastal and south interior Karnataka on September 8-9 and interior Karnataka on September 9-10.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Bengaluru City observatory recorded 251.4 mm of rainfall in the last four days
• Before this, the observatory gauged 132.6 mm on September 26, 2014
• The all-time high is 177.6 mm recorded on September 12, 1988

Bengaluru weather: It has been raining cats and dogs in India’s ‘silicon valley’ and if the weather officials are to be believed, the worst is not over yet. The weather bureau has predicted heavy rainfall over south interior Karnataka, including in the city, for two more days.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is predicted over a few places in coastal and south interior Karnataka on September 8-9 and interior Karnataka on September 9-10, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

“A cyclonic circulation lies over interior Karnataka and neighbourhood. A trough runs from cyclonic circulation over east-central and adjoining the southeast Bay of Bengal to north Kerala across Rayalaseema and south interior Karnataka,” it said.

While experts have attributed the flooding in the IT capital to encroachments on the stormwater drain and water bodies which impede the flow of rainwater, excess rain has also played its part.

Bengaluru rain data

According to IMD data, the Bengaluru City observatory recorded 251.4 mm of rainfall in the last four days, including 131.6 mm on Sunday, the highest 24-hour precipitation in September in 34 years.

Before this, the observatory gauged 132.6 mm on September 26, 2014. The all-time high is 177.6 mm recorded on September 12, 1988, senior IMD scientist RK Jenamani said.

The Bengaluru HAL Airport Observatory recorded 271.2 mm of rainfall during this period, including 123.8 mm on Sunday.

The Bengaluru KIAL Observatory reported 158 mm of precipitation in the last four days, including 109.6 on Sunday.

“This is not a localised phenomenon. We have seen large excess rainfall over Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep, north interior Karnataka, south interior Karnataka in the last one week,” Jenamani said.

On September 3-4, a convergence line extended from Comorin area to north interior Karnataka at the lower level.

A convergence line is a band of clouds that remains fairly stationary and can produce large amounts of rain across a relatively small area.

Thereafter, a cyclonic circulation formed over south interior Karnataka. It lay near Bengaluru on September 4 night.

A local Met official said a shear zone deposited heavy rains in south interior Karnataka including Bengaluru city on Sunday.

A shear zone is an area filled with opposing winds concentrating heavy rain in that zone.

According to the IMD data, Bengaluru Rural gauged 752.3mm of rainfall against a normal of 303.5mm between September 1 and September 7 — an excess of 148 per cent.

Bengaluru Urban received 168 percent surplus rainfall — 840.2mm of precipitation against a normal of 313.2mm — during the period.

In August, Bengaluru received 370 mm of rainfall, a little short of the all-time record of 387.1 mm of rainfall in August 1998.

Tech companies pour out woes amid rain fury

Meanwhile, at a meeting convened by Karnataka IT/BT Minister Dr. CN Ashwath Narayan, technology companies in Karnataka aired their grievances on Wednesday.

Representatives of several IT companies, who were present at the meeting, urged Narayan to find a solution to the rain-related woes.

They said their primary concern was to bring to the notice of the government the miseries they faced and the losses incurred.

In response, the minister assured them that the state government will help find a permanent solution to the infrastructural issues in the Mahadevpura zone, which witnessed water logging, by next year.

“Narayan also sought the cooperation of tech companies to retain the status of ‘Bangalore Brand’. A virtual meeting will be conducted every month from now on to resolve the grievances of entrepreneurs,” a statement issued by the office of the minister stated.

He also said that the government will examine implementing the Electronic City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA) model of the system that is being put in place in the Electronic City in the Mahadevapura zone.

The meeting comes days after torrential rains and flooding affected the tech corridor in the capital city.

Representatives of Goldman Sachs, Infosys, Wells Fargo, Wipro, Mphasis, Intel, TCS, Accenture, Sonata Software, Philips, Solace were among those who attended the meeting.

(With inputs from PTI)

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