BENGALURU: Why is Bengaluru becoming unbearably hot?
This was reportedly the question most asked by citizens on online platforms as well as in offline discussions as the city’s maximum temperature raced towards the 35 degrees Celsius mark on Wednesday. “It is not a fine feeling to be out on the streets during the day. The intense heat makes it...stuffy. We don’t know why is Bengaluru’s weather acting weird even before peak summer has set in,” said Akanksha Datta, a college student and aspiring model.
However, officials from India Meteorological Department maintained the city is witnessing the normal maximum temperature for March. “Maximum temperature of 34 degrees C is normal for Bengaluru city...On Wednesday, the city’s maximum temperature was 34.5 degrees C,” an IMD official said. But what has contributed to Bengaluru’s heat is the high relative humidity. “The average relative humidity for the past eight days is 68.6 per cent,” the official added.
In fact, residents in certain pockets of north and east Bengaluru were confused when their localities witnessed traces of rainfall on Wednesday amid the sweltering heat. An IMD source said: “When it merely drizzles and does not rain fully, the relative humidity in the area goes up to nearly 100%, making the heat feel like what one experiences in coastal areas. Only when around 1cm rain is recorded does the temperature drop a little. The relative humidity was 72% on Wednesday morning, which is three per cent above normal for that time of the day.”
Relative humidity also leads to clouding, which makes the surface warmer. In the presence of clouds, heat doesn’t escape the surface, thus not allowing the minimum temperature to drop. “The minimum temperature has been 23 degrees C for the past two days and is likely to remain the same for the next couple of days,” the source from IMD further explained.
Speaking about pre-monsoon showers, the source pointed out that there are currently no troughs, low-pressure areas or other systems that will bring rainfall and that clouding is not dense enough for it to rain without other systems bringing in moisture.
“If the wind speed was more, citizens might not have felt the heat but even the wind speed is very low (light wind). The temperature in the city might go up to 35 degrees C and remain that way for the next couple of days,” the source said.
With mercury continuing to sway between 33 and 35 degrees Celsius, Bengalureans will have to put up with the heat unless the city gets a few rain spells. Meanwhile, doctors have suggested parents don’t allow their children to experience abrupt exposure to extreme temperatures. They emphasised on staying hydrated to avoid heat and dehydration-induced fatigue.
