Umbrellas out, Bengaluru: Light rain likely in city ahead of Makar Sankranti as maximum temperature dips

While light rain was recorded Monday, there is a prediction of similar light rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, which is expected to keep minimum temperatures above normal.

“Partly cloudy sky. Fog/mist likely during early morning hours in some areas. Maximum and minimum temperatures very likely to be around 26 degrees Celsius and 17 degrees Celsius, respectively,” said the IMD forecast for Bengaluru till Wednesday.

Bengaluru generally experiences its coldest winter days in the first two weeks of January. In seven of the last 15 years, Bengaluru has recorded its lowest January minimum temperatures in the range of 12 to 13 degrees Celsius (usually in the first and second weeks of the month).

Incidentally, the lowest minimum temperature ever recorded in Bengaluru is 7.8 degrees Celsius on January 13, 1884, as per the IMD’s historical records. In the last 15 years, the lowest temperature recorded in Bengaluru in January was 12 degrees Celsius in January 2012.

The Makar Sankranti festival in mid-January is considered to signal the end of the winter season in Bengaluru and the return to warmer weather leading into summer.

The second week of January this year saw below-normal minimum temperatures in Bengaluru, following a spell of above-normal weather in the first week.

Bengaluru city recorded a minimum temperature of 14.9 degrees Celsius on January 7, which was 1.1 degrees below the normal of 16 degrees Celsius for January. The HAL airport region recorded a minimum temperature of 14.4 degrees Celsius, 0.7 degrees below normal.

The lowest temperature recorded in the city last week was 12.7 degrees Celsius at Yelahanka, near the Bengaluru airport, on January 7. The minimum temperatures last weekend were around 12.5 degrees Celsius.