Mercury rising, but no heatwave impact yet in Karnataka, says IMD

Severe heatwave conditions are prevailing in the northern parts of the country, but Karnataka hasn’t been impacted much due to convectional rainfall in the last two weeks, weathermen said.

Some places in the coastal and interior regions of the state reported above average temperatures, with the mercury slightly increasing in the last two days.

But meteorologists said there is no reason for alarm since the departure is not over 2.6%.

A few districts in north interior Karnataka have breached the 40 degrees Celsius mark as the state enters peak summer climatic conditions.

Kalaburagi recorded the season’s highest temperature of 43°C on April 21 as per data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Also read: Heatwave, coal shortage fuel blackouts across states

On Thursday, the district saw a temperature of 41.6°C , while it was 41°C in Raichur, and 40°C in Bidar, Vijayapura and Koppal districts.

Coming to south interior Karnataka, Davangere hit 37°C, while Mysuru and Shivamogga recorded 36°C on Thursday.

Scene in B’luru

Bengaluru city averaged between 34°C and 36°C last week. While residents complain that it already feels like peak summer, IMD officials say this year’s temperatures are comparatively lower due to convectional rainfall (when the sun heats the earth’s surface and leads water to evaporate).

“In Bengaluru, the felt temperature is always higher as the city is at a higher altitude. This year, we could say that April has been comparatively cooler as there were days when the temperature touched 37-39 degrees Celsius in the previous years. It is higher in districts like Ramanagara, Chamarajanagar, Tumakuru and Mysuru as mercury levels are always higher in the plains,” an IMD scientist explained.

No heatwave has been observed in the state so far this summer and no alerts have been issued by the IMD.

“We call it a heatwave when the temperature goes above 45°C or when there is a departure of 4.5% from the normal. For the next three days, there will not be a heat alert in the state,” an official confirmed.

Only minor power disruptions, says Bescom

Rising temperatures have had little impact on the power supply across the city, according to Bescom officials. Though a few parts of the city have been experiencing daylong power cuts, most are scheduled interruptions to take up underground cabling works.

“Unscheduled power cuts are few. Since we want to complete a majority of the underground cabling works before monsoon, we have expedited the work, which has caused power interruption in a few areas,” a senior Bescom official said.

However, he added that there might be a few minor disruptions.

“During summer, a few machines may give up due to the high heat. In such cases, we take up immediate repair works. That apart, transformer failures are also high during the summer since the load increases,” the official explained.

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