April scorcher: Bengaluru breaks heat records

Bengaluru: This April, Bengaluru has broken many weather records, indicating that climate change is hitting the city hard. 

According to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Bengaluru, the city had zero rainfall days in April, a first since 1983. Though the long dry spell of nearly 150 days was broken on a couple of days in April, experts said the rainfall was too minimal to be recorded.

“It was less than 1 mm which is too minimal and cannot be considered,” a senior official from IMD Bengaluru told DH.

With the city not receiving any rains since November 2023, this could also be one of the longest dry spells in Bengaluru, experts said. 

The absence of rain also kept the city hotter than usual. With the mercury touching 38.5 degrees Celsius, Bengaluru witnessed the second-hottest day in at least 50 years. The hottest day was recorded in April 2016 at 39.2 degrees Celsius.

To add to this, at least 10 days in April have recorded “appreciably above normal” temperature, which means the temperature was 3.1-5 degrees Celsius above normal on these days. This is again a first-ever occurrence.

“The average temperature for Bengaluru in April is 34.3 degrees Celsius. While the temperature was higher than this on most of the days and was marked as ‘above normal’, at least on 10 days, the temperature was ‘appreciably above normal’, meaning it was 3.1 to 5 degrees Celsius above the average temperature for the month,” another scientist from IMD Bengaluru said.

Scientists attributed the increasing temperature to the El Nino effect and global warming. “The emission of greenhouse gasses is only increasing and the city is seeing the effects of global warming,” the scientist said.

No respite in May 

With an average temperature of 33.1 degrees Celsius, May in Bengaluru is generally considered to be cooler than April. However, the predictions by the IMD say that high temperatures will continue even in May. The city might, however, receive light to moderate rainfall for a couple of days starting May 5 and this might bring down the temperature marginally. After May 15, the temperatures may come down slightly, officials said.