JOIN USThe question is whether cold weather has set in
Far from the chilly weather that characterises December, Bengaluru has been experiencing some very warm temperatures in the last four days which according to the Meteorological department is “three to four degrees above” the normal maximum and minimum temperatures. This has been attributed to the delay in the northerly winds.
On December 13, the maximum temperature touched 30.9 degree Celsius in the City, while the minimum was 20.6 degree Celsius, the highest recorded in the City so far this month. The preceding days has seen the maximum temperature exceed 29 degree Celsius.
Dr Geeta Agnihotri, Director, Meteorological centre, Palace Road, said, “The normal maximum and minimum temperature for December is in the range of 26 degree Celsius and 16 degree Celsius respectively. However, for the past few days, we have been recording above normal temperatures. This is a result of the increase in easterlies. We generally expect during this time the northerlies to bring in the cold air. This time, however, only easterlies have come. We expect this to change in the coming days.”
Although not normal, there have been quite a few instances in past years that have seen similar high temperatures during this month. On December 13, 2012, for example, a temperature of 31 degree Celsius was recorded and in the year after that a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius was recorded on December 1. The all-time record for the highest temperature recorded for December was on December 18, 1926, when the temperature soared to 31.1 degree Celsius. Prof J Srinivasan, chairman, Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), called the above normal temperatures of the last few days “quite surprising”.
“In our country, rains play a vital role in the drop in temperatures. However, there has not been any good spell of rain, to the tune of 30 mm to 40 mm, in the last 15 days to make much of a difference.”
Since the beginning of the month, the highest amount of rainfall recorded by the Met department has been a negligible 2.9 mm on December 3. In the four days earlier when it rained, it was below this amount.
Srinivasan said, “During the period from 1901 to 2010, the minimum temperature of Bengaluru has increased by 1.79 degree Celsius. The increase is partly on account of global warming, but it is also on account of urbanisation,” he said. He said that between 1980 to 2000, the minimum temperature increased by one degree Celsius, while the maximum temperature has increased by 1.5 degree Celsius.