Mercury drops sharply in Karnataka

The northerly and north-easterly winds sweeping across the state have led to sudden fall in minimum temperatures in Bengaluru and across the state.

The minimum temperature that was hovering around 20 degrees Celsius dropped to 15-16 degrees C on Wednesday. Officials from the India Meteorological Department said the phenomena started on Tuesday with many districts in north interior Karnataka witnessing minimum temperatures below 10 degree C.

In Bidar, temperature plummeted to 7.6 degrees C, Dharwad 14 degrees C, Haveri and Raichur 13 degrees C.

IMD Bengaluru Director G S Patil said that the drop in temperature was steep in north interior parts of the state compared to Bengaluru. On Wednesday, Bidar recorded 7.8 degrees C while other districts in the north interior parts of state saw 10 to 11 degree C.

The second factor contributing to the cold conditions, Patil said, was the lack of clouds that trap the heat and keep the atmosphere warm.

“The weather will turn warm in the next two days due to the entry of easterly winds. But this will be a temporary phenomenon as the northerly winds will continue to bring cold weather in the coming days,” he said, adding that dry weather will continue in large parts of state.

The IMD has already alerted that the coming winter is expected to be colder than usual due to the prevailing La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean, during which winds blow stronger bringing the cold wave.