This is Bangalore’s hottest March in 15 years

Bangalore: 23/09/2012: The searing Sun is making Bangalore feel the heat for sure . The mercury level soared to 32 degrees Celsius on monday, making it the hottest day of sep 2012 so far . The weatherman has predicted the maximum temperature to rise further, at least by a couple of degrees in the next few days .Photo: G. R. N. SOMASHEKAR

If you have been complaining about the unbearable heat for the past couple of days, be prepared for the worse in the days to come.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said this is the hottest March Bangalore has seen in 15 years, with the city recording the highest maximum temperature of 36.6 degrees Celsius on Friday.

In 1996, the city recorded the highest maximum temperature of 37.3 degrees Celsius.

Light drizzle on Saturday night in some parts of the city, including Malleswaram and Jayanagar, brought the temperature down a notch.

There will be, however, no respite in the coming days. “The hottest day in April last year was when the temperature touched 37.5 degrees Celsius. This April could be the same or even worse, subject to whether there will be thunderstorms,” an official said.

According to the IMD’s forecast for the next two days, the maximum temperature will hover around 36 degrees Celsius, while the minimum will be around 22 degrees Celsius. The sky will be partly cloudy, with rain and thundershowers in some parts of the city in the evening.

Other parts of the State are also reeling under heat-wave conditions. Gulbarga recorded the highest maximum temperature of 40.9 degrees Celsius in the State, according to the summary released on Saturday.

A few parts of south interior Karnataka received rain.

Poor monsoon last year, disappearing green belt and increasing air pollution are major contributors for the sizzling summer, an IMD official said. The Western Ghats areas were receiving rain because the local weather conditions support cloud formation, the official added.

‘Not abnormal’

But this year’s temperature is not abnormal, said V.S. Prakash, director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). “The maximum temperatures in the State have gone past these figures in the last 30 years. In March 1983, the maximum temperature in Bangalore reached 37.2 degrees Celsius,” he said.

Mr. Prakash said the average temperature for March in Bangalore in about 40 years had been around 32.6 degrees Celsius.