Historically, the lowest temperature recorded in Bengaluru in the month of January was 7.8° Celsius on January 13, 1884.
BENGALURU: The winter chill may not have given Karnataka a miss, after all. Many parts of the state have witnessed a steep drop in minimum temperatures over the past few days.
While Bengaluru and its surrounding areas woke up to another chilly morning on Wednesday, with many parts of the city recording temperatures around the 10° Celsius mark, the lowest minimum temperature of 4.1° Celsius was recorded at Almel hobli in Vijayapura district, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell (KSNDMC).
In Bengaluru, Hesaraghatta, with its vast green expanses, saw the coldest morning with mercury levels at 9° Celsius, the least minimum temperature registered in the city in more than a decade. Elsewhere, people in Dharwad, Vijayapura, Belagavi, Bidar, Kalaburagi, Shivamogga and other places too experienced biting cold as minimum temperatures were in the range of 4-6° C.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert for cold wave conditions in parts of Karnataka for the second day in a row. Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions prevailed at a few places over north-interior Karnataka and cold wave conditions were observed at isolated places over south-interior Karnataka.
The changed weather conditions saw 84.2% of the geographical area of the state record minimum temperatures in the range of 8°C to 14°C on Wednesday. Minimum temperatures in many parts of the state were 2-3° degrees C below normal. Forecasts indicate that the cold weather will continue for the next two-three days.
The Met department recorded 11.1° Celsius at Kempegowda International Airport and 11.5° C at HAL. The lowest temperature recorded in Bengaluru since 2008 was in 2012 at 12° Celsius.
Historically, the lowest temperature recorded in Bengaluru in the month of January was 7.8° Celsius on January 13, 1884.
The KSNDMC data showed that several other parts of the city also recorded a dip in temperatures. Regions in Bengaluru North were colder than those in Bengaluru South, according to KSNDMC scientist S S M Gavaskar. Among the areas that recorded minimum temperatures around the 10° Celsius mark included Chikkajala at 10.7° Celsius, Yelahanka and Kengeri at 10.3° C and Tavarekere at 10.1° C.
According to IMD forecast, cold wave conditions have abated in the northern parts of the country. “Cold wave conditions are isolated pockets over eastern parts of central India and interior peninsular India are likely to continue during the next 1-2 days,” said the forecast.