BENGALURU: Gone are the days when early morning officer-goers and school-going children sported jackets and sweaters in February as Bengaluru city seems to be welcoming the harsh summer in the second month of the year itself.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature in the ‘Garden City’ has already crossed 33 degrees Celsius. “The city has become hotter by 1 degree Celsius this February. On February 9, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 34.2 degrees Celsius,” added IMD sources. The city, however, is yet to break the highest maximum temperature for February – 35.9 degrees Celsius – recorded in 2005.
Similar conditions have been recorded in the past as well. A maximum temperature of 35.5 degrees Celsius was reported twice in the past — February 23, 2016, and February 26, 2019. In 2012, February 29 saw 34.4 degrees Celsius. The silver lining, however, is that the El Nino conditions are weakening in the Pacific region – which means a normal monsoon season.
IMD also states that South Interior Karnataka’s average rainfall for February is 7mm and a few places are likely to see some showers by the end of the month. “El Nino conditions are weakening and the impact will become neutral by June or July. This could result in a normal monsoon here,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the highest-ever temperature for February in the state was recorded in Kalaburagi on February 24, 2016 (43.3 degrees Celsius), and again on February 7 the same year, the city saw 37.6 degrees Celsius. In 2019, Ballari district recorded 40 degrees Celsius on February 25, while Karwar reported 38.8 degrees Celsius on February 14 of the same year.