JOIN USResidents hesitate to step out as Vijayapura hots up
Scorching sun is no stranger to the district. But it's a bit bizarre this season. The temperatures are two degrees above the normal maximum, much to the discomfort of the citizens here.
Summer, this year, has been torturous, right at the start of the season, which is the las week of March. The maximum temperature was 39 degrees Celsius on March 24, 39.1 degrees Celsius on March 25, 39 degrees Celsius on March 26 and 38.9 degrees Celsius on March 27.
The temperatures were recorded at the weather forecast centre of the University of Agriculture Sciences at Hitnalli on the outskirts of the city.
Shankar Kulkarni, technical officer of the centre, told DH that Vijayapura city was a heat island and so, the temperature would be 1 or 2 degrees Celsius above what is recorded at the centre.
This means the temperature would have crossed the 40 degrees Celsius barrier, clearly 2-3 degrees Celsius above the normal maximum temperature of 27-38 maximum temperature for the last week of March.
Officials at the centre said that with no possibility of rain in the foreseeable future, the temperatures may erase past records. The temperature is high right from 8 am and it is impossible to step outdoors between 11 am and 5 pm, said Savithri Angadi, a homemaker.
"We go out of the houses only if there is an important work to attend to. We finish off less important works in the early hours of the day. Guests at home are served lemon juice, cold water and butter milk. It is a tough ask to help children overcome the intense heat," Savithri said.