Karnataka is likely to have a warm summer as the season will witness above-normal temperature. The summer months are between March and May and the meteorological department forecasts above normal temperature for all three months.
“There is a high probability of above-normal maximum temperature during the three months (March to May). The minimum temperature will also be above normal. During March, some districts of south interior Karnataka, including Bengaluru, are likely to experience above normal maximum temperature,” said A. Prasad, scientist, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru.
The normal temperature for Bengaluru during the months of March, April, and May are 33.4°C, 34.1°C, and 33.1°C, respectively. “There is a possibility that the temperature could go up to 35°C for a few days in March,” Mr. Prasad said.
The highest-ever temperature for March was 37.3°C, which was recorded in 1996; the highest ever recorded for April was 39.2°C degrees celsius, recorded in 2016; and for May 38.9°C, recorded in 1931.
On Monday, Bengaluru city recorded a maximum temperature of 34.8°C.
Mr. Prasad also said that in some parts of the State, there is likely probability of heatwave during the three summer months. “Above normal heatwave days are likely during these three months for some districts of north interior Karnataka and normal heatwave conditions over coastal Karnataka and south interior Karnataka,” Mr. Prasad said.
He added that there is a high probability of above-normal rainfall over a few districts of north interior Karnataka and south interior Karnataka in March. “In the rest of the places, normal rainfall is likely to happen. During the next three months, we will get rains, and thunderstorms are also possible for a few days,” he added.
Mr. Prasad said that this year, the State did not witness intense winter because of El Niño. During February, the monthly average temperature was 1.3°C more than normal and compared to last year, it was 1.6°C more.
“The reason why temperature has been warm is because 2023 was an El Niño year and the index was more than 1.5°C. However, it has now slowly declined and weakened and the index has come up to 1.5°C. El Niño is further expected to decline by the beginning of monsoon season and there is high probability for this to happen,” Mr. Prasad said.
Met officials call it an El Niño year if the index is between 1.5°C to 2°C.
