BENGALURU: Erratic pre-monsoon rains may have cooled districts surrounding Bengaluru. The city’s temperature dropped by a degree in a day. But the northern and central parts of the state continue to blaze in the summer heat, even recording a one-degree increase in 24 hours on Thursday.After the hail and downpour on Wednesday evening, which tapered into nearby districts within hours, Bengaluru city recorded 37.7 degrees Celsius as its highest temperature on Friday, while Kalaburagi recorded 44.7 degrees Celsius.
Kalaburagi’s Kalagi was recorded as the hottest on Thursday. Several taluks in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Raichur, and Yadgir were under alert for exceeding 42 degrees. Besides these, several taluks in Ballari, Belagavi, Davanagere, Gadag, Haveri, Koppal, Vijayanagara, and Vijayapura were still reeling under temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius.Meanwhile, the rains in Bengaluru — the downpour and hailstorm — tapered into nearby districts by 7.30pm, experts from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) said.Fatalities from Heatwave so far : Hallikar oxen, Maddur, Mandya : 28 April Two pet dogs in Mysuru city 25, 26 AprilSource: Animal Husbandry DeptSuspected Heat Stroke Case till April 26:Ballary 1Tumakuru 1Bengaluru Rural 2Bengaluru Urban 1Koppal 1 Vijayanagar 1Source : Health DeptDirector M S Divakara, speaking to TOI, called these erratic downpours a part of pre-monsoon showers that do not impact water storage in ponds and lakes, but are sufficient to cool temperatures. “Bengaluru, on the day of the rain and hailstorm, witnessed a dip of 15 degrees Celsius,” he added.Meanwhile, other departments are still on the lookout for heatwave cases, largely in the north interior Karnataka region.Health Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde told TOI, “A lot of patients are coming in with mild symptoms of heatwave, largely in north Karnataka, and these are generally not recorded. However, 10 critical cases linked to heatwave have been reported so far. We were able to handle them. Raichur had a severe case reported on Wednesday, and we are monitoring it. We have issued heatwave advisories to handle the situation in different regions,” he said.Shilpa Nag C T, Commissioner, Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, also admitted to greater vigilance in the north interior parts. “At present, across the state, we are running the ninth round of foot-and-mouth disease vaccination and have asked ground staff to ensure they go out only before 9am and after sunset — both to reduce stress on them and the animals.”Rains are predicted to continue in south interior Karnataka till May 1. Between April 29 and 30, South Interior Karnataka received average 4mm rainfall with the highest recorded in Bengaluru at 13.6mm, North Interior Karnataka recorded 0.4 mm with the highest in Belagavi 1.7 mm. Malnad received 1.2 mm with the highest in Hassan 3.2 mm. And Coastal Karnataka received 0.1 mm.
