Is Bengaluru becoming the “capital of heat”? Continued dry period with no rainfall reported by IMD during the last 146 days

Bengaluru: Despite predictions for rain over the previous week, Bengaluru city has now seen 146 days without rain. The latest prognosis, however, suggests that the city may see erratic rainfall in the next few days. The weather department does not include the rain that was reported at the international airport on January 11 and in certain areas two days earlier in Bengaluru’s rainfall total because the showers were not widespread and did not happen close to the central observatory of the India Meteorological Department, which is located in the city center. The IMD states that on November 21, 2023, there was the last reported rainfall in Bengaluru.

The Times of India reported that CS Patil, a scientist and the head of the airport Met office at IMD Bengaluru, gave the following explanations for why Bengaluru has not received rainfall in spite of forecasts:

El Nino, or the warming of the Pacific Ocean, is what propels the mercury northward and reduces rainfall over India.

The environment is steady. Clouds only form when the atmosphere is unstable. For the next three days, the situation in Karnataka won’t change.

As a result of the 2023 drought, Patil claims that dry air and soil both contribute to heatwaves. This has raised temperatures and resulted in a lack of rainfall.

“Temperatures have increased throughout the nation.”
The expert further clarified that temperatures had risen above average throughout the country, not only in Bengaluru. There isn’t a heatwave in the state right now, and from Wednesday to Friday, Bengaluru and south-internal Karnataka might have some light rain. The stability of the atmosphere is another important component; unstable circumstances are usually conducive to the production of clouds. For the next three days, Karnataka is predicted to have atmospheric stability.

Over the last several decades, Bengaluru’s temperature has increased: Investigate

It is evident from recent research that Bengaluru’s average temperature has increased by over one degree during the last 42 years. The pace at which water evaporates from bodies of water has increased as a result of this trend, which has been particularly noticeable in the previous 20 years. The three years of less rainfall have had a direct impact on groundwater recharge and reservoir replenishment, exacerbating the already-existing problem of water shortage.

In order to prepare for water urbanism, we must create permeable urban landscapes. Our analysis demonstrates that between 55 and 60 percent of precipitation in regions with native species of vegetation seeps through. Less than 30% of the water is absorbed when there is less than 25% plant cover. However, concretization totally halts infiltration, as stated by Dr. T.V. Ramachandra and three other experts, who wrote the paper, according to the Hindu.