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What makes the climate of Bangalore so pleasant ?

Afternoons in Northern India, starting from April, are typically hot. People avoid going out of the comfort of homes/offices during the summers. Especially, the Loo (as the wind is called) is very hot & dry and is quite infamous for claiming lives every year. 😭

"So ja hero, subah jaldi uth ke walk par jaana hai", lashed Tewari at me, in our PG in Noida. It was 2010 and we were working for a software firm. We were quite motivated by our forever young and athletic friend 'Ankur' (or Negus as we called him) and hence, we had thought of waking up early for a walk/jog, as mornings provided a soothing experience, effect of which faded away with every passing hour. We wanted to be the 'early birds', taking the advantage of serene weather.

Cut back to the present day, Bangalore. Be it morning or evening, dawn or dusk, I always find people strolling/jogging in the society. Such is the beauty of Bangalore climate. You wake up to pleasant mornings, don't sweat out on the way to office, and the evening cool wind makes you forget all the office tension. During summers, it usually rains every evening and whenever the weather is hot, you generally can bet on a heavy downpour. The winters too are soothing, not too cold but enough for one to flaunt their pull-overs / cardigans.

Why does Bangalore have such a gratifying and wonderful climate through out the year?

I have thought about this mystery quite a few times. Why is Bangalore blessed with such a lovely climate? Well, there are three important reasons to this conundrum. The very first reason is its 'Height above sea level' or Altitude. The city sits at 920 m (3000 feet) above sea level, a very important aspect for the cool weather. The higher you go above the sea level, the cooler it gets, as it is the earth that gets heated up and not the atmosphere due to sun. So a place at a high sea level will generally fare better (in climate) than the place close to sea level. For instance,the height above sea level of Hyderabad is 505 m, Delhi 216 m, Mumbai 14 m, Agra 171 m, Chennai 6.7 m ...

The second important factor is 'Geographical location'. There are two monsoons that hit our country, India; Winter monsoon (October - March) and the Summer monsoon (April - September). Bangalore, located at the centre of southern peninsula, is close to both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal (Read the difference between Sea and a Bay). As a result, it gets both the monsoons; thus the rains and the cool weather.


Third reason is the Green cover. There are many lush green trees across the city which helps to keep the temperature cool and also are the contributing factors for rainfall due to Transpiration. But this cover is diminishing at a fast pace in a bid to give space to the concrete jungle. Trees are felled for the construction of metro throughout the city. In Whitefield alone, some 1000 odd trees will be axed (as quoted in Bangalore mirror). A study by Research matters (refer the image below) shows the great difference in the green cover in Bangalore over the past few decades.



Well, these are the attributes that make Bangalore climate so appeasing and delightful. But an appeal to all our readers: though we can't really stop the development around us, we can do our bit by saving water, electricity and by planting new trees around us. Or else, we might have to pay a very very heavy price for it in the coming future.

Nerd Notes:

1) The difference between weather and climate is the 'time duration'. While Climate tells the atmospheric conditions of a place over a longer period, Weather is used for a small shorter period

2) For every 1000 metres you go above the sea level, the temperature drops approximately by 10° C

As always, thanks a lot for reading. Hope you liked the post. Don't forget to share it with your friends and family. Also, please like our Facebook page.

Keep smiling.

- Prakhar

Comments

  1. While we cannot do anything about the first two factors for your city, we can surely take control of the third factor by preventing deforestation and planting more trees and finding ways of development that are sustainable.

    ReplyDelete

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