BENGALURU: People this season have been complaining not just about rising temperatures, but the discomfort they have been experiencing. Experts say this is because of the El Nino effect and urban conditions that people have been creating, which is impacting now.
Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director, India Meteorological Department (IMD), General, said the discomfort also depends on humidity levels. This time the number of cyclones has been few, and their onset has also been delayed. There are a lot of internal wind circulations and western disturbances, which are making people feel the discomfort. The level, however, varies depending on the region, he said.
“There is a difference between heatwave and heat stress. People in Bengaluru and other parts of interior Karnataka are experiencing heat stress. While people in Rajasthan and other states are experiencing a heatwave,” said MS Divakara, Director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).
Explaining the difference, he said heat stress is experienced when the weather makes people uncomfortable. This is not just because of high temperatures but because of increased concretisation, rise in vehicles and heat island effect. Heatwave is when temperatures are 4-5 degree Celsius above normal, and remain so for many days.
Officials in the IMD said this year, till April-end, no heatwave alert was issued for any part of Karnataka or India, yet people experienced high temperatures and heatwave-like conditions. However, a heatwave alert has been issued for many parts of India, including north and central Karnataka, for the month of May. Despite thundershowers and hail, temperatures will rise, they said.
The IMD has also forecast a rise in minimum temperatures in most parts of the state during May, till the onset of the Southwest monsoon. “Each time there is a downpour, there will be a short respite, but after that temperatures will rise by one degree Celsius.
This is what is being observed so far in most parts of the state,” said N Puviarasan, director-in-charge, IMD-Bengaluru. He said that repeated alerts are being issued to various district administrations to take all the required measures for mitigating heat. Weathermen this year have also sounded an alert for a unique weather pattern, where high temperatures are being recorded for prolonged durations.
Citing the examples of Bidar and Raichur, Divakara said it has been observed that most parts of these two districts have been recording over 40 degree Celsius for 7-8 hours of the day. Similar is the case with Bengaluru, which has been experiencing 34-35 degree Celsius, for nearly 5-6 hours of the day. This has not just led to a rise in day temperatures, but also made the nights warmer, he said.
He added that in places like Kalaburagi and Ballari, temperature rises to 45-46 degree Celsius this season, yet people are not complaining of heat, because they are not feeling uncomfortable, but that is not the case in Bengaluru, Raichur, Bidar and Chitradurga. “We have started a detailed scientific study on this pattern.
A tabulation and comparison to previous years is also being done. However, this year, the impact that is being experienced is more severe. The causes and corrective measures need to be studied and implemented at the earliest,” Divakara added.