Just no chill: City got hotter by 1.50 Celsius

Just no chill: City got hotter by 1.50 Celsius

Imran KhanFirst Published : 09 Mar 2010 05:10:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 09 Mar 2010 06:32:13 AM IST
BANGALORE: Bangalore is getting hotter, espcially in the winters, says a study condcuted by the scientists of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore. The study says temperature has increased by around 1.5 degree Celsius in the last 34 years.
The study — which traces the climate and weather patterns of the city from 1976 — reveals that due to the increase in temperature Bangalore’s winters have become shorter over the years whereas summers are experiencing a short chill period.
Raje Gowda, agri-met scientist at UAS says that the maximum and mean minimum temperature of the city have seen an increasing trend whereas the average maximum and mean minimum temperature have seen a decreasing trend in almost all the months during the period of study. (The study observes that no significant changes were seen during February, as it is a transitory month between winter and summer).
Gowda said that due to this increase in temperature, the city has seen abrupt weather and climatic changes, and in some instances the whole environment has been altered.
He says there has been a decrease in the duration of winter and also winter has got a little warmer. “We are experiencing a slight chill during summers and early pre-monsoon showers due to precipitation,” Gowda said.
The study observes that there has been a tremendous change in the rainfall pattern in the city as well as in the state. According to the study, the quantum of monsoon rains has decreased significantly, especially the north-east monsoons. In some cases there has been excess rainfall, the study reveals.
Global climate change taking into account the local factors has been held as the primary factor responsible for the changes in temperature.
Abrupt increase in population density since the 1980s, loss of green cover and increase in vehicular population are the local factors responsible for the 1.5 degree Celsius temperature rise.
The study used the ‘stoichiometric crop weather model’, and Gowda says the findings will be sent to National Agriculture Meteorological Journal.