Kerala rains: Skymet predicts heavy rainfall to continue in state till 26 July; local flooding likely to occur in certain areas

Intense showers are expected to continue over Kannur and adjoining cities during the next one to two hours that can lead to local flooding according to private weather forecasting agency, Skymet. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also predicted on Friday that Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Odisha are likely to receive heavy rainfall. Skymet has predicted that the rain forecast for Kerala during the next week (until 26 July), as heavy rainfall is likely to continue in the state. Weathermen are of the view that the state can expect over 500 mm of rain till July 22.

#Rainfall Figures for #Kerala for the past 12 hours. District: #Ernakulam

Data source: Skymet AWS#KeralaFloods #keralarains #keralaflood pic.twitter.com/wpZOnN9dP6

— Skymet (@SkymetWeather) July 19, 2019

On Thursday, Skymet had predicted that the intensity of rains will peak in Kerala between 18 and 20 July with some really heavy rains being observed in pockets. The remaining days are expected to record moderate to heavy amounts of monsoon rain. [caption id=“attachment_1010385” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The weather forecasting agency has also said that this spell may lead to a flood-like situation due to which red alert has already been issued by the Kerala state authorities. Places that are likely to witness the heaviest rains are Punnalur, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Wayanad. According to a _Reuters_ report,  India’s monsoon rains are 20 percent below average in the week ending on 17 July, as rainfall was scanty over the central, western and southern parts of the country, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, raising concerns over the output of summer-sown crops. Soybean and cotton-growing central regions received 68 percent less rainfall in the week, while the rubber and tea-growing southern state of Kerala received 71 percent lower rainfall, data from the weather office showed. According to weather experts, the Southwest monsoon has been very disappointing so far as the month of June ended with a deficiency of 44 percent of rainfall. Besides, the deficit of rainfall between 1 June and 17 July in Kerala is a whopping 47 percent. Skymet officials believe that Kerala now requires heavy rains to fulfill the deficient figures if any. “But with the forecast of some really good rains, we could see the rainfall deficiency in the state coming down to some extent.” Overall, India has received rains that were 16 percent less than average since the monsoon season began on 1 June. With inputs from agencies