Bangalore's weather is changing like crazy. Scorching summers, bone-chilling winters and deluges that resemble cloudbursts are indicators that all is not well with the city's climate. It spells bad news for a city once considered perfect to live in.
Describing it as a localized impact of climate change, experts warn that not only will the episodes of extreme weather become more frequent, but will get more intense.
The government, though, says it has to study the weather pattern for a few more years to arrive at any conclusion on localized impact.
Jayaram Jangal, programme manager, Public Affairs Centre, whose team is doing a study on 'Climate Change Adaptation in the City of Bangalore', said the impact of climate change on Bangalore weather is clearly visible over the past few years. "We've been analyzing the rainfall data and recorded variations in temperature to prove that climate change is affecting the city. Our analysis shows that episodes of extreme weather events will increase and worse, the intensity of such events would go up," he explained.
Environmentalist Naveen KS said Bangalore is experiencing an urban heat island effect. Temperature and other climatic factors within the city limits differ from its surroundings. The city also experiences varied precipitation and there are changes in the micro-climate as well. Citing an example of changes in micro-climate, he said the mercury has been capricious across the city this month, with various localities recording minimum temperatures in the range of 9.9 degree Celsius to 14.3 degree Celsius on a single day.
Weather experts say rapid population growth, coupled with an increase in different kinds of pollution, especially air, and decrease in water evaporation and transpiration, leads to formation of heat islands. Even the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC) report released early this year has mentioned that extreme rainfall events resulting in flooding would increase in the coming years, said another expert.
A senior Indian Meteorological Department official, however, differed on this. The climate of a particular region has to be studied over a few years to arrive at the causes of the changes. "There are some changes in Bangalore's rain pattern. But we need to study it for a few more years before arriving at any conclusion," he added.
What is extreme weather?
The term pertains to unusual changes in the weather of a particular region. Such changes are extreme in nature, compared to similar events in the history of the place. While rising sea levels and melting ice mountains are more known events under the category, for a land-locked region like Bangalore, drastic variations in rain pattern and extreme hot and cold periods are the indicators.
