Rainfall in Karnataka

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Heavy rains show the full might of Jog Falls in Shimoga district

The state of

Bayaluseemae region in the Deccan Plateau is one of the most arid regions in the country. Most of the rains received in the state is during the monsoon season. Being an agrarian economy with a large percentage of its citizens engaged in agriculture, the failure of rains can have a crippling effect on the economy of the state. Apart from the benefits in agriculture, the Government of Karnataka has tried to avail other benefits of rainfall using scientific methods. An example of this is the project, Rainwater Harvesting in Rural Karnataka which is initiated by the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology and is one of the largest rainwater harvesting projects in the world.[1] Agumbe in the Shimoga district , Amagaon in Belgaum District, Hulikal again in Shimoga district and Talakaveri in Madikeri
are some of the known places with the highest annual rainfall in South India. Of this Amagaon has received over 10000 mm rain fall twice in 10 years.

Agumbe and Hulikal in Shivamogga District of Western Ghat region is considered as "Cheerapunji of South India" but still some places in Western Ghats region had resulted much more rainfall than these two villages. Amagaon in Belgaum District recorded magical number of 10,068mm in the year 2010 , Mundrote in Kodagu district recorded 9974mm in the year 2011.

The table below compares rainfall  between Agumbe in Thirthahalli taluk in Shimoga district, Hulikal in Hosanagara taluk in Shimoga district, Amagaon in Khanapur Taluk in Belgaum district and Talacauvery and Mundrote in Madikeri taluk in Kodagu district, Kokalli of Sirsi Taluk, Nilkund of Siddapur Taluk, CastleRock of Supa (Joida) Taluk in Uttara Kannada District, Kollur in Udupi District to show which one can be called the "Cherrapunji of South India".

Year Hulikal Rainfall (mm) Agumbe Rainfall (mm) Amagaon Rainfall (mm) Talacauvery Rainfall (mm) [2] Kokalli Rainfall (mm) Nilkund Rainfall (mm) Castle Rock Rainfall (mm) Mundrote Rainfall (mm) Kollur Rainfall (mm)
2017 5,700 6,311 4,733 5,859 3130 4981 5560 1002 5203
2016 5,721 6,449 4,705 5,430 2682 4655 4968 1458 3496
2015 6,035 5,518 4,013 5,319 2730 4367 3667 3143 4254
2014 7,907 7,917 5,580 7,844 8746 6710 5956 5566 3308
2013 9,383 8,770 8,440 8,628 4464 7082 3667 7199 6614
2012 8,409 6,933 5,987 5,722 5036 5398 6165 3727 6715
2011 8,523 7,921 9,368 6,855 4437 6593 7083 9974 7083
2010 7,717 6,929 10,068 6,794 4002 - - 5042 7685
2009 8,357 7,982 - - - - -
2008 7,115 7,199 - - - - -
2007 9,038 8,255 - - - - -
2006 8,656 8,457 - - -[3][4] - -

The following were the top 5 places that recorded highest rainfall in statistics [2010-2017] [5][6][7][8]

Rank Hobli/Village District Taluk Year Rainfall in mm Elevation in metres
1 Amagaon
Belgaum district
Khanapur 2010 10,068 785
2 Mundrote
Coorg District
Madikeri 2011 9,974 585
3 Hulikal Shimoga district Hosanagara 2013 9,383 614
4 Agumbe Shimoga district Thirthahalli 2013 8,770 643
5 Kokalli/Kakalli Uttara Kannada Sirsi 2014 8,746 780

The following places recorded highest rainfall with respect to each year [2010-2017]

Year Place Taluk District Rainfall in mm Elevation
2017 Agumbe Thirthahalli Shimoga district 6,311 634
2016 Agumbe Thirthahalli Shimoga district 6,449 634
2015 Hulikal Hosanagara Shimoga district 6,035 614
2014 Kokalli Sirsi Uttara Kannada 8,746 780
2013 Hulikal Hosanagara Shimoga district 9,383 614
2012 Hulikal Hosanagara Shimoga district 8,409 614
2011 Mundrote Madikeri Kodagu district 9,974 585
2010 Amagaon Khanapur
Belgaum district
10,068 785


[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Importance

The economy of Karnataka is mainly agrarian and most of it is dependent on the rainfall; mainly the

ground water and Karnataka has come up with innovative methods like rainwater harvesting in order to solve the drinking water scarcity
in the state.

Rainwater harvesting

Karnataka is a pioneer in the concept of

PVC pipes and stored in an enclosed surface tank. The pipeline consists of a first-flush filter which flushes out the first rainfall along with other contaminants that may exist on the roof and then subsequent cleaner rainwater is allowed to pass on to the tank. A sand bed filter is used to further eliminate impurities in the water before it gets collected in the tank.[1]
Further precautions are taken to prevent dust and insects from entering the tank.

Consequences

Deficient rainfall

A year of deficient rainfall leads to the following consequences:

Excess rainfall

Heavy rains can lead to a significant loss of life and property and also cause damage to the crops.[20] Excess rains also cause an impact in major cities with inundated roads causing traffic jams. An example of this was in the year 2005 when the Madivala lake overflowed on to the Hosur Road in Bangalore forcing many schools and offices to close.[21]

Rainfall distribution

The average annual rainfall in Karnataka is 1248 mm.[22] The state is divided into three meteorological zones viz. North Interior Karnataka, South Interior Karnataka and Coastal Karnataka. Coastal Karnataka with an average annual rainfall of 3456 mm is one of the most rainy regions in the country. Contrasting this, the region of South Interior Karnataka and North Interior Karnataka receive only 1126 and 731 mm of average annual rainfall.[23]

Districts

The average annual rainfall in the districts of Karnataka varies from 562 mm (22.1 in) in the

Shivamogga
districts receive the heaviest rainfall.

Annual Rainfall in Karnataka 1991-2005[24]
Average annual rainfall in the districts of Karnataka[23]
District Average annual rainfall
mm inches
Bengaluru Urban
978 38.5
Bengaluru Rural 885 34.8
Chitradurga 573 22.6
Davanagere 700 28
Kolar 744 29.3
Shivamogga
1,813 71.4
Tumkuru
688 27.1
Bagalkote 562 22.1
Belagavi
808 31.8
Vijapura
578 22.8
Dharwad
772 30.4
Gadag
612 24.1
Haveri
753 29.6
Uttara Kannada 2,835 111.6
Bellary
636 25.0
Bidar 847 33.3
Gulbarga
777 30.6
Koppal 572 22.5
Raichur 621 24.4
Chamarajanagar 751 29.6
Chikmagaluru
1,925 75.8
Dakshina Kannada 3,975 156.5
Hassan
1,031 40.6
Kodagu
2,718 107.0
Mandya
806 31.7
Mysuru
798 31.4
Udupi
4,119 162.2

Notes

  1. ^ a b c A. R. Shivakumar. "World's largest rainwater harvesting project in Karnataka" (PDF). Current Science, VOL. 92, NO. 2, 25 JANUARY 2007. Online webpage of Indian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
  2. ^ Amagaon has got over 10,000 mm annual rainfall twice in the five years (2006-2010). The exact amount of rainfall is not available. See Amagaon is now Cherrapunji of South from DeccanHerald.com accessed 23 March 2013
  3. ^ "Govt of Karnataka Rainfall Statistics (Kokalli)" (PDF). DES.
  4. ^ "Rainfall Statistics of Karnataka". DES Karnataka.
  5. ^ "Rainfall Statistics for Kokalli (Ajjimane)" (PDF). DES Karnataka.
  6. ^ "Rainfall Statistics for Amagaon" (PDF). DES Karnataka.
  7. ^ "Rainfall Statistics for Mundrote" (PDF). DES Karnataka.
  8. ^ "Rainfall Statistics for Agumbe and Hulikal" (PDF). DES karnataka.
  9. ^ "Govt of Karnataka Rainfall Statistics (Kokalli)" (PDF). DES.
  10. ^ "Rainfall Statistics of Karnataka". DES Karanataka.
  11. ^ "Rainfall Statistics for Kokalli (Ajjimane)" (PDF). DES Karnataka.
  12. ^ "Rainfall Statistics for Amagaon" (PDF). DES Karnataka.
  13. ^ "Rainfall Statistics for Mundrote" (PDF). DES Karnataka.
  14. ^ "Rainfall Statistics for Agumbe and Hulikal" (PDF). DES karnataka.
  15. ^ "Karnataka Human Development Report 2005" (PDF). Online webpage of the Planning Commission. Government of India. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  16. ^ "Karnataka Agricultural Policy 2006" (PDF). Online webpage of Department of Agriculture. Government of Karnataka. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  17. ^ B Chandrashekhar (21 September 2003). "Cloud-seeding experts counsel patience". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 22 January 2004. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  18. ^ Parvathi Menon. "From debt to death". Online webpage of The Frontline, Volume 20 - Issue 20, September 27 - October 10, 2003. © 2003, Frontline. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. ^ "Belgaum facing power shortage of 46 mu a month". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 22 March 2007. Archived from the original on 29 March 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  20. ^ "Heavy rains in Karnataka, toll climbs to 117". The Times of India. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  21. ^ "Bangalorean's water woes continue". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 25 October 2005. Archived from the original on 27 October 2005. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  22. ^ "Rainfall". Online Webpage of the Department of Agriculture. Government of Karnataka. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  23. ^ a b "Average annual rainfall of the states of India". Online webpage of Rainwaterharvesting.org. © Centre for Science & Environment, India. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
  24. ^ "Rainfall statistics". Online webpage of the Department of Agriculture. Government of Karnataka. Retrieved 26 June 2007.