Bengaluru and adjoining districts of south-interior Karnataka are likely to receive fairly widespread rain until Tuesday as two weather systems over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal intensify, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The forecast has immediate implications for daily travel and outdoor activity across the city during the wet spell.
The IMD said a well-marked low-pressure area over the southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Lakshadweep region may intensify into a depression by Sunday morning. At the same time, another low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm by Monday morning before moving towards the Andhra Pradesh coast by Wednesday.
Bengaluru and the adjoining districts of Mysuru, Kodagu and Chamarajanagar could experience spells of rain under the influence of the two systems. Rainfall is expected to be fairly widespread until Monday, after which the intensity is likely to ease to isolated spells for the rest of the week.
The forecast covers a period in which changing weather conditions can affect road travel, visibility and outdoor movement across Bengaluru. The IMD has also indicated that cloudy and occasionally windy conditions are likely to prevail in the city and surrounding areas.
CS Patil, a scientist at IMD Bengaluru, told the Times of India that the twin weather systems were influencing the expected rainfall pattern across Bengaluru and the neighbouring districts. The forecast does not indicate that the Bay of Bengal system will make landfall in Bengaluru; the system is expected to move towards the Andhra Pradesh coast by Wednesday.
The Arabian Sea system is expected to intensify sooner, with the IMD forecasting possible development into a depression by Sunday morning. The Bay of Bengal system is expected to strengthen into a cyclonic storm by Monday morning. These developments are expected to sustain widespread rainfall over Bengaluru and parts of south-interior Karnataka through the start of the week.
The IMD forecast indicates a shift from widespread rain during the first part of the period to isolated spells later in the week. Residents and city agencies will therefore be monitoring local rainfall and wind conditions as the two systems develop and move along their forecast paths.
