Southwest monsoon rainfall in Karnataka is second lowest in 70 years and seventh lowest in 125 years

As against the normal rainfall of 852 mm for the SWM period from June to September, Karnataka received only 551 mm, reporting a shortage of 35%. | Photo Credit: file photo

The rainfall received by Karnataka during the southwest monsoon (SWM) is the second lowest in the last 70 years (after 1956) and the seventh lowest in the last 125 years (after 1901), shows data, pointing to the severity of the drought. The year 2002, which had the lowest SWM rainfall since 1956, had received just 10 mm less than 2026.

As against the normal rainfall of 852 mm for the SWM period from June to September, the State received only 551 mm, reporting a shortage of 35%.

What has caused concern is that while the overall rainfall deficit is 35%, the actual shortage is even higher in some regions. The cumulative rainfall deficit during the southwest monsoon stands at 41% for South Interior Karnataka, 42% for North Interior Karnataka, 38% for Malnad region, and 28% for coastal region. SWM has been either deficit or largely deficit in 209 taluks of the total 240 in the State.

The State has already declared 217 taluks as drought hit as per the Centre’s drought manual’s norms. This number is likely to increase as the ground-truthing exercise is on in the remaining 23 taluks.