Bengaluru temperatures dip below normal for January after brief spell of warm New Year weather

Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. (Express Photo by Darshan Devaiah BP)

After a spell of above-normal weather through the first week of January, below-normal temperatures returned to Bengaluru Wednesday, and the dip is expected to continue over the next few days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Bengaluru City recorded a minimum temperature of 14.9 degree Celsius Wednesday which was 1.1 degree Celsius below the normal of 16 degree Celsius for January. The Bengaluru HAL Airport area recorded a minimum temperature of 14.4 degree Celsius, which is 0.7 degrees below normal.

The maximum temperature in Bengaluru was also below normal Wednesday, with the city recording 26.4 degree Celsius as the maximum, which is 0.5 degrees below normal and the two airport regions of HAL and KIAL recording maximum temperatures that were 2.2 degrees and 1.1 degree Celsius below the normal of 28.2 and 27.4 degree Celsius, respectively.

The lowest temperature recorded in the city on the day was 12.7 degree Celsius in the Yelahanka region near Bengaluru International Airport.

The temperature forecast for Thursday and Friday from the city dashboard of the state natural disaster monitoring centre is a minimum temperature of 12.5 degree Celsius with a likely dip to a low of as much as 11.7 degree Celsius.

“Partly cloudy sky. Fog/mist likely during early morning hours in some areas. Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 27°C and 16°C, respectively,” IMD said in its forecast for Bengaluru for the weekend.

The lowest minimum temperature ever recorded in Bengaluru was 7.8 degree Celsius on January 13, 1884, as per IMD. In the last 15 years, the lowest temperature recorded in Bengaluru in January was 12 degree Celsius in January 2012.

In seven of the last 15 years, Bengaluru has recorded the lowest January minimum temperatures, ranging from 12 to 13 degrees Celsius (usually in the first and second weeks of the month). In 2024, the lowest temperature recorded for January was an unusual 16.4 degree Celsius.

The lowest temperature recorded on Wednesday in the state of Karnataka was 9 degree Celsius in Bidar, which had been experiencing cold waves since the start of winter last month.

IMD also issued an alert for continuing cold wave conditions in North Karnataka over the next 48 hours.

“Cold wave conditions are likely to prevail over Bidar, Kalaburgi, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad and Gadag districts of North Interior Karnataka during next 48 hours,” IMD said Wednesday.