Pathanamthitta: Intense rains have returned to Kerala after a brief lull as a low-pressure area that sprang up near the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal gained strength into a deep depression. Downpour has been reported from the hilly areas of the state as humid winds from the Arabian Sea that swept over the land mass hit the Western Ghats.
The state's hilly areas will experience a mix of rain and sunshine until Thursday. The sun will shine at intervals in central Kerala and mid-rural areas.
Meteorologists suggest that the depression, moving in the north-western direction, will bring heavy rain across India. Global weather agencies like the US National Weather Service say rain will be copious in many parts of the country until August 22. They also suggested possibilities for more depressions in the Bay of Bengal from August 14. It is possible that some depressions will emerge by August 18 on the land in Andhra Pradesh, they claimed.
A region of low barometric pressure is called a depression.
IMD allays El Nino scare
India's official weather bureau, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), meanwhile, has rejected a private agency's prediction that the El Nino phenomenon will drain the monsoon of its intensity. El Nino can raise temperature on the Pacific surface and inhibit rain coming to India. The Skymet predicted that this can reduce rain by 12 per cent in August and 7 per cent in September. However, the IMD says the dip in August will only be 4 per cent of the long-term average.
The Australian weather bureau (Bureau of Meteorology, Australia), which observes El Nino accurately, says the phenomenon has a 50 per cent chance. Though the mercury levels remain low in the Pacific sea surface now, the bureau predicts that it could change in the coming weeks.
Indian seas get warm
The IMD said the Indian Ocean Dipol (IOD) phenomenon that raises temperature in Indian seas is also favourable for rainfall in India. The warming of the western part of Indian Ocean, which includes the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, aides rain conditions. Rain will be intense if the warmth remains. It will be the other way if the sea gets less warm. If it is neutral, rain will also be moderate. The IMD experts insist rains will not weaken, because the temperature remains moderate.
