Prateek Tanmay
2 min readBengaluruJun 23, 2026 08:21 PM IST
With the Southwest Monsoon playing truant this year, Karnataka is staring at a rainfall deficit. Bengaluru is among the handful of districts that have received normal rainfall, while more than half the districts in the state are staring at a deficit.
Key districts in the catchment areas of major rivers, such as the Cauvery and Tungabhadra, have received less than half the normal rainfall from June 1 to June 23. A small part of Karnataka experienced the onset of the monsoon on June 4, which then gradually spread to other areas of the state during the following week.
All districts experiencing normal rainfall are located in the interior regions of Karnataka. As of June 23, Bengaluru has recorded 79 mm of rainfall, representing a 24 per cent excess over average levels. Among the districts receiving normal rainfall during this time are Bengaluru South and Bengaluru Rural.
Overall, the south interior Karnataka region recorded 55 mm of rainfall, which matches the long-term average. In contrast, the Malnad and Coastal districts, which are essential to several rivers and tributaries, experienced a 59 per cent rainfall deficit.
The Malnad districts have recorded 102 mm of rainfall, compared to an average of 250 mm. Meanwhile, the coastal districts, which typically receive an average of 584 mm during this period, have received 242 mm of rainfall so far. Overall, the state is experiencing a 32 per cent rainfall deficit.
According to data from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, three districts in the state have experienced a large rainfall deficit, ranging from -99 per cent to -60 per cent of normal levels. Fifteen districts have a rainfall deficit of -59 per cent to -20 per cent, while eight districts have recorded normal rainfall.
As the monsoon season has not yet gained momentum, major reservoirs in the state have not received significant inflows.
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The weather conditions are expected to improve in the coming days, with the India Meteorological Department issuing an orange alert for coastal districts until June 26. Also, a yellow alert has been issued for the districts in south interior and north interior Karnataka.
