Bangalore is cold; but the outskirts are getting colder

Bangalore may not be going through a cold wave as are cities in North Karnataka. But there is a sharp dip in the temperature in the city. And the dip is pronounced as one drives away from the centre of the city.

On Sunday, the city recorded a minimum of 14 degrees Celsius, two degrees below the normal. Five km away from the city, at the HAL Airport, the temperature read 12.2 degree Celsius. Due to this, there was a presence of dense fog at HAL and BIA airports, reducing the visibility to 100 metres.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Bangalore director, B Puttanna explained the probable reasons behind the difference in temperatures in the city and outskirts. He said it was due to the increasing infrastructural works, urban heat islands and round-the-clock vehicular movement. He added that there was a slim chance that Bangalore would experience cold waves this year, but in the coming days (December end), the temperature is likely to dip. This will happen in the absence of easterly waves and cloud cover if the high-pressure area pushes the former to Sri Lanka.

However, the dip will not be as low as it is in north Karnataka.
Bijapur and Raichur on Sunday recorded 6 and 7.3 degrees Celsius, respectively, an all-time low in 119 years. According to IMD officials, a cold wave was prevailing over north Karnataka, which caused the temperatures to hit an all-time low.

Puttanna also said that in the immediate next few days, easterly waves will prevail over south Karnataka causing formation of thick clouds in Bangalore. Due to this, the minimum temperatures will increase but the maximum will reduce. It would also be coupled with light rainfall over the next few days. There is also a trough of low pressure prevailing over Tamil Nadu coast, which will add to the cloud cover.

Puttanna pointed that this year the minimum temperature had not dropped as expected. This is due to concretisation of the city and lack of open spaces.

The observatories in Bijapur and Raichur, earlier in the cities were shifted to open fields in 2005, so temperatures were lower in the outskirts when compared to the city. In Raichur, the temperature was 11 degrees Celsius below normal. The lowest minimum was also recorded in December 1981 (9.8 degrees). In Bijapur the lowest minimum recorded was 6.7 degrees Celsius in December, 1897.

In the past, maximum and minimum temperatures (measuring up to 5-6 degree Celsius) have been recorded in Raichur, Gulbarga, Bidar, Belgaum and Bellary.