Thursday was the second coldest day in May for Bengaluru in the last 50 years as the city’s maximum temperature dropped by a staggering 11 degrees Celsius.
Bengaluru recorded a maximum temperature of just 23°C, a far cry from the normal of 34°C, data recorded by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) at 5.30 pm showed. The minimum temperature, too, stayed below normal. At 19.5°C, it was 3°C lower.
The only time Bengaluru had a colder day during the fifth month was on May 14, 1972, when the maximum temperature stood at 22.2°C.
Curiously, as per the IMD’s 8.30 am recording, the maximum temperature in the city for the previous 24 hours was 25°C.
At 5.30 pm on May 11, the maximum temperature had stood at 24.3°C, the lowest for May in the last 10 years and at least 9°C lower.
So what’s behind this unusual weather? Is it cyclone Asani?
It’s actually the remnant of the cyclonic conditions, as one senior IMD official put it.
IMD said that “Asani has weakened over the west-central Bay of Bengal”.
“It was a well-marked low-pressure area over coastal Andhra Pradesh but is weakening into a low-pressure area with winds blowing at less than 17 knots (31.48 kmph),” said Geeta Agnihotri, scientist, IMD, Bengaluru. The effects are being felt thousands of kilometres away, she added.
Another senior official said low clouds and cold winds were prevailing over northeast Karnataka and south Karnataka, dropping the temperatures and bringing rainfall.
The IMD said the weather will stay for at least two more days (until May 14) before the rainfall comes down and temperatures rise again.