Sizzling Summer Ahead as Mercury Soars

Sizzling Summer Ahead as Mercury Soars

BENGALURU:The city may experience a scorching summer this year, with the Met Department forecasting rise in temperature up to 38 degrees Celsius.

While normally the city sees a rise in temperature in March, it recorded 33-34 degrees Celsius in February itself. However, the Met Department predicted misty weather in the next two days.

“It is only after March 11 we can say that the summer has set in. Now, though the days are hot, with temperatures ranging from 31 to 33 degrees Celsius, nights still record a minimum of 18 degrees Celsius. Hence, we cannot say that summer has commenced,” said  Puttanna, Director, Meteorological Department, Bengaluru.He said that this year the temperatures might see a significant rise. “There will be an overall increase of atleast 2 to 3 degrees in the temperatures. This year the temperature could go up to 38 degrees Celsius. In the last 150 years, the highest temperature recorded was 38.9 degrees Celsius,” he said.

Shrinking Tree Cover to Blame

Experts blamed shrinking tree cover and growing concrete jungle for the extreme weather change.

“We have more of high-rises and glass buildings in the city now. This leads to an increase in the ambient temperature. We had many lakes and ponds in the city which kept the groundwater level sufficient. But all this has been replaced by quarries and unplanned buildings,” said environmentalist Yellappa Reddy. He said that according to the current trend, the temperatures could increase up to 40 degrees Celsius.

The surface temperature in May could go upto 42 degrees Celsius and the ambient temperatures could increase to 40 degrees Celsius, Reddy said.

Shocked that Bangalore was facing high temperatures in February, Siddaiah, former BBMP Commissioner, said the city was growing rapidly and in an unplanned manner.

 “We did not need a fan. I don’t remember ever switching it on. But now in addition to a fan, we need an air-conditioner,” he said.

“We were once the Garden City but in the last 40 years, we have not only managed to lose the tag, we have lost out on all the possible gardens we could have built. We should have had more Lalbaghs and Cubbon Parks, but we have done the opposite,” he said.

Safer Designs

BESCOM Managing Director  Pandey said the company has invited entries from experts for safer transformer designs. The last day for submission is is March 9, after which the ‘proof of concept’ phase would begin. “There is a prize of `5 lakh and we are prepared to give more for good designs. The patent, however, will be with BESCOM since we have to implement it across our jurisdiction,” he said.

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