Freaky weather over, winter is back

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Bengaluru: After an extended heat spell, the city is finally heading for some cold days. The Met office is expecting “cold wave conditions” over Bengaluru and northern parts of the state soon as there has been a change in wind directions.
A “cold wave condition” is when temperatures fall at least 8°C from the average temperature of the season. During 2012, parts of the state were under the grip of “cold wave conditions” during winters. This year however, the temperature has not fallen as expected.
In the first week of January the mercury rose to 32°C in Bengaluru, giving a feel of summer days during peak winter. Now with the wind changing from easterly to north and north easterly, meteorologists are expecting a fall of 5°C in the maximum temperature in the next three days.
“To achieve a dip in temperature, certain weather parameters play a crucial role. Clear skies, extended nights and wind from north, where the temperatures are running real low at present, increases the chill factor. Since the winds have started blowing from a northerly direction we are expecting a dip in both maximum and minimum temperatures of Bengaluru in the coming days,” said Mr B. Puttanna, director-in-charge, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru.
A similar effect will be observed in other parts of the state too, he added. “Parts of north Karnataka will see a dip in temperature in the coming days due to change in the wind direction. There are no signs of rain as we are in the withdrawal period of the North East monsoon. Due to clear skies, the temperature will come down in the next few days. Though there will, however, be no any sudden dip; the temperature over Bengaluru will fall gradually over the next four days,” Mr Puttanna added.
Temperatures in the city will start increasing after that. “There are reports being aired by many organisations that the city temperature might shoot up to 40°C in the coming summer, but there are no such predictions made by the IMD. We cannot anticipate the harshness of the summer with the temperatures recorded during winter,” said a weather expert from IMD.