Bengaluru: Winter’s late but the chill is on!

Bengaluru: Woollen sweaters and jackets are out and Bengaluru is feeling the chill with temperatures hovering around 10 degrees as recorded on Sunday at BIAL.

Predictions by weathermen say winter will continue till mid-February. Geeta Agnihotri, the director of the Meteorological Department, points out: “In the month of December the temperature has been above normal; between 16 to 17 degrees. From December 1 to 10 the temperature has been 17 degrees and from December 11 to 31 it has been 16 degrees. So in December the minimum temperature has been 16 degrees. In January it has been an average of 15 degrees. Interestingly, some 2-3 days ago, the city recorded the lowest temperature at 12.9 degrees. Last Sunday it was a little cold as BIAL observed 10.6 degrees and HAL observed 13.9 degrees. However, in the coming months the temperature should rise.”

C B Ram Kumar, Founder & Managing Director, Green Dreams for the Planet – an Environmental Awakening & Sustainability Action enterprise, points out that the winter this time has been delayed and the sudden onset of the winter has led people to feel quite chilly.

He says the winter has definitely been delayed. “We are already in the first week of January. Once we have a delayed winter, the temperature will fall and this will happen quite quickly. This delay of onset of winter is because of the cyclonic storms that have taken place, as well as climate change. One thing is certain -- we are seeing shorter winters. Earlier, winter used to start by November. The glass buildings all over the city and the reduced vegetation have drastically affected the climate in the city. The change in climate is the reason why today we see that summers are hotter and winters are not as cold as they used to be. ”