This story is from February 25, 2019

Brace yourself, Bengaluru: it’s gonna get super hot this summer

Brace yourself, Bengaluru: it’s gonna get super hot this summer
Winter has barely bid adieu and namma Bengaluru is already sizzling. Day temperatures are peaking at over 30 degree Celcius and the worst bit is that it isn't even summer yet. In fact, experts say that it is only going to get hotter in the days to come. “It is not only Bengaluru, but the entire State is experiencing such hot weather. Based on our observation and going by previous year's data, Bengaluru will experience even hotter days in the few days.
The temperature might go up by a degree or two,” explains Dr GS Srinivasa Reddy, Director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), adding that the city temperature could soar to 35 degrees. On Friday, the maximum temperature recorded for Bengaluru Urban was 33.5 degree. The hottest day in Bengaluru was on February 17, 2005, when the highest recorded temperature was 35.9 degrees. “Going by the trend observed in the last decade, we might see very hot days ahead. The worrisome part is that this is only the onset of summer,” adds Dr Srinivasa.
One of the reasons attributed to the spike in temperature is the lack of moisture in the soil. “Karnataka experienced less rainfall last year and there was severe drought in many areas. The eastern districts did not receive any rainfall,” explains a scientist at the India Meteorological Department. Dr Srinivasa further points out, “If you see the rainfall pattern, September onwards there has been no rain and, hence, there is no moisture in the soil, and more than 50% of the water bodies are dry. Bengaluru being a concrete city with a lot of buildings with glass facade, the temperature is higher than in the surrounding areas. If you look at Devanahalli, it is always a degree less than the central part of the city. In fact, across the city there are temperature variations depending on the topography and greenery.”
“There has been a 1028% increase in concrete area, 88% loss in vegetation and 79% loss of water bodies in the last four decades. If this trend continues, by 2025, 98.5% of Bengaluru will be concretised and we may hit temperatures of 42-44 degrees,” warns Dr TV Ramachandra, Energy and Wetlands Research Group at Centre for Ecological Sciences at The Indian Institute of Science.
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