BENGALURU:  After Wednesday’s chilly morning, cold weather conditions and dense fog continued to prevail in Bengaluru on Thursday, as the minimum temperature was recorded 2-3°Celsius below normal at several places.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city observatory at Sheshadri road recorded a minimum temperature of 13.1°C during the 24-hour period that ended at 8.30 am on Thursday. This marked a minus 2.7°C deviation from the normal temperature — a phenomenon observed in many parts of the state.

During the same period, measuring stations at HAL Airport and KIA recorded 11.6°C and 11.2°C, respectively. According to the daily report of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural districts recorded an average minimum temperature of 11.5°C and 10.1°C, respectively. On Wednesday night, Hesarghatta hobli had recorded a minimum temperature of 9°C — the lowest temperature recorded in the city in a decade.

The dip in mercury is attributed to cold wave conditions prevailing over several parts of North and South Interior Karnataka. It appears these conditions will remain so for some time, as the IMD’s forecast for Friday and Saturday has predicted the minimum temperature to be around 14°C in the city.

KSNDMC director G S Srinivasa Reddy said the minimum temperature had, in fact, risen slightly by about 1°C on Thursday in the city. He attributed continued chilly conditions to winds blowing towards the state from areas affected by cold wave in the north of the country, including Rajasthan. “In addition, the city has had clear skies over the past few days, which leads to further decrease in temperature,” he said.

Reddy added that while KSNDMC had predicted cold wave conditions to continue over the rest of the country until January 10, in Bengaluru, chilly conditions are expected to prevail for only 1-2 days more.
Interestingly, the chilly weather comes just a few days after the city experienced the warmest December day since IMD began to record temperatures in 1871, when it recorded 31.4°C on December 26.

Experts had cited cloudy skies as one of the reasons for the phenomenon.The IMD has forecast minimum temperatures between 13 and 15°C from Friday until Tuesday, with maximum temperature expected to be between 27 and 29°C.