Bengaluru Rains: Heavy showers to pound city between October 16-18; waterlogging and traffic snarls expected

Bengaluru, October 14: We extend our sympathies to those whose Dussehra plans were foiled during the long weekend. The Karnataka capital saw sporadic and sometimes intense rains making an appearance in various parts of the city in the last two days. But as Bengaluru’s infrastructure struggles to recover from yesterday’s lashing, weather models indicate that the wet weather is here to stay — at least for the next few days.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru will witness generally cloudy skies along with light rains and thundershowers throughout this week. Further, these inclement conditions will only worsen as we approach the end of the week.

A yellow watch has been issued over Bengaluru Urban due to the possibility of heavy rains on Wednesday and Thursday (October 16-17) so as to urge residents to “be updated” about the weather. This will be upgraded to an orange alert, meaning “be prepared” on Friday (October 18).

Independent forecasters have predicted that a significant rainfall event likely between the evening hours of Wednesday and morning of Friday could lead to serious flooding and traffic disruptions in the city. Commuters are advised to be wary when venturing out on these days as rains could worsen the already pothole-riddled roads. Already, the last few days’ rain and people returning to work after the long weekend has resulted in traffic congestion in major parts of the city today.

The upside to these rains, however, is that the city’s air quality has improved and the dust has settled quite a bit. Bengaluru’s AQI stood at 49, indicating good air quality in the city.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru residents would do well to carry their umbrellas and raincoats every time they step out this week — things could get messy.