BENGALURU: A city that once barely had houses that needed fans and has been known for it’s pleasant weather throughout the year, recorded temperatures higher than Chennai and Kolkata on Monday. Both the cities are known for their soaring temperatures. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the IT capital of the world recorded a maximum temperature of 30.8 degree Celsius on Monday while the maximum at Chennai was 28.4°C and 26.2°C in Kolkata. Bengaluru’s temperature was close to that of Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune at 32.2°C each and Hyderabad at 32.6°C, at 7.30 pm.
The temperature of Bengaluru at 2.30 pm on February 17, according to IMD was 31.4°C 35 in Kalaburagi, 32.2°C in Belagavi, 32.8°C in Gadag, 34°C in Karwar, 31.4°C in Honnavar, 31.4°C in Chitradurga and 34.2°C in Mangaluru. On February 15, the city had recorded the highest maximum temperature for this year in the month of February of 33.1°C. The highest ever for Bengaluru has been 35.9°C for the month of February on 17 in 2005. The normal temperature being 31.1°C for the month of February.
That is not all, Bengaluru’s temperature on February 15 was higher than Belagavi (30.5), Bidar (32.4), and Dharwad (32.6). “Looking at the trend, it only seems like the temperature in Bengaluru will only rise. This is not just because of the global climate change phenomena but also because of the local factors. The city has already seen a maximum of 33.1 and in the coming days it could soar higher than 35,” IMD, Bengaluru director-in-charge Geeta Agnihotri told TNIE.
She said since there is low wind and humidity, people are feeling the heat. There are also no chances of cloud formation and rainfall as there is no moisture in the air.Looking at the rising mercury level, the IMD is working on issuing forecast and alerts for the rising temperatures also.