A cold wave that had most of
northern Karnataka under its grip
has abated for now, but it will not
be long before these districts see
another precipitous dip in
temperatures, according to the
meteorological centre here.
On Monday, most parts of the State
recorded temperatures lower than
the “normal” minimum and Belgaum
was the coldest at 8.8 degrees
Celsius. However, for a cold wave to
be officially declared over a region,
at least 50 per cent of the weather
stations need to record
temperatures below 10 degrees
Celsius, said B. Puttanna, Met
centre director.
Last week, temperatures across most
of north Karnataka dropped to single
digits, with Belgaum recording a
minimum of 6 degrees Celsius last
Wednesday. But it would not be long
before the wind direction changes
from an easterly to a northerly one
and for the temperature to dip
again, Mr. Puttanna said. “This time
the cold wave is likely to be even
more severe than the one we
experienced last week,” he added.
These weather conditions, including
cold waves, are typical of winter
every year, Mr. Puttanna said.
Another distinctive weather feature
for this time of year is the extreme
gap between maximum and minimum
temperatures. In Bangalore for
instance, the difference between the
maximum (30 degrees Celsius) and
minimum (14 degrees Celsius) was a
huge 16 degrees.
With skies that are totally devoid of
cloud cover, and very little
atmospheric moisture to buffer
radiation, earth’s surface heats up is
much faster during the day, and
loses heat equally fast at night, Mr.
Puttanna said.
Below normal
In Bangalore, the minimum
temperature was four to six degrees
Celsius below normal on Monday,
according to the weather bulletin.
The city saw its year’s coldest day
on Monday as the minimum
temperature dipped to just 13
degrees Celsius in the early
morning.
This is likely to dip even further
over the next weeks, said Mr.
Puttanna. In 2007, the city recorded
a minimum of just 11 degrees
Celsius, the coldest this decade.
http://m.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/cold-wave-condition-in-north-karnataka-to-subside/article5468936.ece/
