Weather

India’s urban population went up from 17.9% in 1960 to 34.9% in 2020. Bengaluru’s population in the same time period increased more than 10 times. The city’s urbanisation has led to Bengaluru's Land Surface Temperature (LST) increasing from 33.08℃ in 1992 to 41℃ in 2017 -- a whopping 24% increase! Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur have analysed Bengaluru’s urban expansion and how it affected surface temperatures. The study titled Analyzing and Predicting Urban Expansion and Its Effects on Surface Temperature for Two Indian Megacities: Bengaluru and Chennai also predicts the city’s urban area in 2025. Key findings…

Last October, around 700 houses in Bengaluru were damaged after heavy rains and flooding. The saga continues this year - 70 houses were flooded on June 4, and more on July 5. For hundreds of low-income families in Bengaluru, heavy rainfall in the last few years have meant intense damage or even losing their home. Flooding can also lead to the inflow of sewage into slums, which further increases the risk of water-borne and vector-borne diseases. Flooded roads and underpasses don't just choke traffic for hours, but they also increase the likelihood of accidents. Flooding has also been leading to…

This July, the BWSSB (Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board) had warned that Cauvery water supply to the city would stop by September. Rainfall was extremely low, and water levels in the Cauvery reservoirs had plummeted. But come August, the scenario turned around completely. The two-and-half months of monsoon this year has been strange. In July end, while compiling the storage levels across all four Cauvery reservoirs in Karnataka - Harangi, Kabini, Hemavathi and KRS - I found that we were staring at the lowest water levels this decade! As the KSNDMC (Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre) does not…

Bengaluru left shivering after cold wave According to Indian 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. HAL Airport and KIA recorded 11.6°C and 11.2°C, respectively, Hesarghatta had recorded a minimum temperature of 9°C — the lowest temperature recorded in the city in a decade. This is attributed to the cold wave sweeping across north and south interior Karnataka, and the conditions are expected to remain for the next couple of days. City doctors say the number of patients with upper respiratory problems…

KSNDMC warns of possible flooding in September Bengalureans felt the ripple effect of floods in Kodagu District (where a rainfall of 768mm left villages ravaged) on August 24, when the city received 43 mm of rainfall till 9 pm. Areas such as Malleswaram, Rajajinagar, Hebbal, Sadashivanagar, Kengeri, Adugodi and Mysore road received very heavy rainfall. Once the rain started, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) issued warnings by dispatching messages through their mobile application to certain key areas. The centre has forecast heavy rain in the immediate future, and has intimated the same to BBMP. Scientists warn that 80 mm…

Here is a drainage map of the city of Bengaluru sourced from the Central Ground Water Board website. No city sitting on a ridge line should actually get flooded but we have achieved the impossible — of course in parts. A dotted ridge line divides the city between the Vrishabhavathy-Arkavathy-Cauvery basin and the Dakshina Pinakini, from the North to the South. There is a huge difference between these two in the slope, the hydro-geology, the soil, the rainfall, the built up area etc. The drainage patterns - the rajkaluves - are interesting too. They are more dendritic in the Vrishabhavathy-Arkavathy-Cauvery basin…

The temperature in the city seems to be rising gradually over the last month. The trend is visible in the entire nation, not just limited to the city or state. While experts say that this has happened gradually over the years, Bangaloreans feel that it is rising at a more drastic pace. Richa Anantha, a sales-woman, livng in Nagarbhavi, points that riders on the city roads can feel the sticky uncomfortable heat. The wind is not cooling. She feels that Bangalore is hotter than what it was last year. Pic: Parvathisri via wikimedia BV Khare, a Bangalore-based retired teacher, residing…

The weather in Bengaluru has become rather unusual these past few days - with dark clouds smothering the sky, accompanied by short spells of rainfall across the city. And this after a streak of particularly hot days - which went as high as a daytime maximum of 33.2°C on March 3rd, coming back down to a daytime high of 27.1°C yesterday (6th) under the influence of clouds and spells of rain.With all apparently unusual weather in the city comes the talk of climate change and how the climate of the city is becoming worse every year. While the city's climate…