Weather may play spoilsport for Bangalore on new year’s Day

While most Bangaloreans are busy zeroing in on the perfect venue for their New-Year bash, there are many others who would rather decide what to wear based the weatherman’s predictions.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) officials have forecast colder days in the first week of January. Due to the prevailing cold wave, temperatures are likely to dip to 8-9 degrees Celsius.

The IMD office has been flooded with calls from people wanting to know everything from the minimum temperature to whether it will be rainy or foggy, before setting up outdoor parties and deciding on the dress code.

Speaking to DNA, IMD-Bangalore director B Puttanna said that apart from farmers who were making several calls over the past week following the fall in onion prices and rain forecast, citizens are now calling up to inquire about the weather. But come rain or shine, nothing will affect their party plans.

The IMD has forecast light rain in isolated places of coastal and north-interior Karnataka. They have also forecast easterly waves which will affect the eastern parts of Karnataka like Chamarajanagar, Mysore and outskirts of Bangalore.

This would also have an influence on the minimum temperatures which would be above normal (normal being 15 degrees Celsius).
Puttanna added that this phenomenon would continue for the next two days.

But after this (in another three-four days) the temperatures are likely to dip. If the sky is clear and easterly waves prevail, the temperature will dip and there is a possibility of a cold wave.

He pointed that compared to December, January is a colder month and there are many records of lowest minimum temperatures.

While in December the temperature dropped to 12 degrees Celsius in the city and 9 degrees at the airport, in January it is likely to dip further and reach 8-9 degrees in the city. This would continue for a week after which the temperature would rise above normal and then dip again.

The normal rainfall for December in the city is 22mm but it has received just 2.9mm. However, the annual rainfall for the city was above normal. The normal average rainfall is 970mm but the city recorded 1040mm, till the end of November, 2010.