Rain brings relief to a parched Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Bengaluru finally received some relief from the scorching summer after nearly six months of dry weather.

Light showers blessed many localities in the eastern, central, northeastern, southeastern parts, and even some western pockets of the city for about 45 minutes, between 6.45 pm and 8 pm, on Thursday.

This came as a pleasant surprise, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) did not predict any rainfall for the city.

The IMD initially predicted no rain for Bengaluru in their 5.30 pm forecast. However, by 7 pm, they revised their prediction to light to moderate thundershowers in a few districts, including Bengaluru Urban.

Rainfall amounts varied across the city, with HAL Airport recording 2.5 mm at 8.30 pm and the city station recording trace amounts. Notably, Vidyapeeta in the South Zone received a significant 20 mm of rainfall.

A senior official of IMD, Bengaluru, said a clearer picture of the total rainfall received by Bengaluru will be available on Friday.

IMD predicts cloudy skies with light rain today

In what is likely the first instance since 1983, Bengaluru experienced a completely dry April with no recorded rainfall.

While some parts of the city did witness light drizzles on a few days, the amount was too insignificant to be registered by the IMD, making it the driest April on record. This lack of rain also contributed to some of the hottest days ever recorded in the city during the month.

Recording its hottest day in May, the HAL Airport observatory registered a maximum temperature of 38.2 degrees Celsius on Thursday, a significant 3.9 degrees Celsius departure from the norm. Meanwhile, the city station and the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) observed their second-hottest day in May. The KIA observatory also witnessed its hottest day ever on May 1, recording a scorching 39.2 degrees Celsius. This surpassed the previous record of 38.6 degrees Celsius. set on May 6, 2016.

The meteorological centre has predicted cloudy skies with light rain on Friday. Maximum and minimum temperatures are highly likely to be 38 degrees Celsius and 24 degrees Celsius, respectively. Expect minimum temperatures to fall by another degree for the rest of the week.