The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : City wraps up on coldest day of year

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Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

City wraps up on coldest day of year

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: Bangaloreans on Monday wrapped themselves up to brace what turned out to be the coldest day this year so far, that is. Clear skies and dry air together made the mercury plummet by over two degrees Celsius across the city: the city-centre recorded 13.9 degrees Celsius; HAL was a degree colder at 12.7 degrees; and Yelahanka was colder still at 11.8 degrees.

“Monday was the coldest day so far this year, but we can expect temperatures to drop further this week,” said A. Muthuchami, Director of the Meteorological Centre here. He added that the centre has forecast a minimum of 12 degrees Celsius for the city for Tuesday. So far this month, the minimum has not dipped below 16 degrees in the city or below 15 degrees in HAL.

Foggy mornings

The foggy mornings all month have been a distinct indication of winter having set in, and the clear day time sky tends to get the weather colder, explained Mr. Muthuchami. “When the atmosphere is transparent and sky clear, the heat from the earth’s surface escapes into space.” Moreover, the humidity has been very low too, preventing solar energy from being trapped in the earth’s atmosphere, he added.

As for the difference in temperature at various points in the city, this is explained by the amount of vegetation and level of urban development, he said.

The heart of the city, with its concrete buildings and buzzing traffic, absorbs much more heat while areas such as HAL and Yelahanka with relatively more vegetation keep cooler, he explained. “This is the case during summers too.”

However, as cold as it might feel, this minimum is no record for the month of December. “The city has seen December temperature drop to just 8.9 degrees in 1883,” said Mr. Muthuchami. “The temperature on Monday was quite normal for the city for December.” The rest of the State saw mercury drop too and Chamarajanagar recorded the lowest minimum in the State, at 8.6 degrees Celsius.

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