Bengaluru: Even though winter is still weeks away, at least officially, mercury levels have begun to drop across Karnataka, including in Bengaluru.According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) readings, temperatures in the city fell to 16-17 degrees Celsius since Sunday, down from 19 degrees Saturday.In north-interior Karnataka (NIK), districts like Vijayapura and Belagavi recorded temperatures as low as 11 degrees Celsius Monday. The drop is 4-5 degrees below normal in parts of NIK and some areas in south-interior Karnataka (SIK).The weatherman attributes this dip to absence of rain (clear skies) and cold winds coming from the north and northeast. “The northeast monsoon is weak now and present only over the southern coast of Tamil Nadu. SIK is getting northerlies which start in Rajasthan and travel through Delhi to the south. Northern parts of the state are also getting cold winds from the northeast, which is leading to drop in temperature,” said UMD scientist N Puviarasan.Bengaluru is facing both northerlies and northeastern winds. “Due to this phenomenon, temperature might not drop further in the next few days,” Puviarasan added. Light rain is expected in three to four days in Kodagu, Hassan, Chamarajanagar and Mysuru, which will be followed by temperatures rising again.Winter conditions by DecNortheast monsoon is expected to withdraw by the beginning of Dec after which temperature will gradually start to drop with winter-like conditions beginning to set in. “Monsoon will be present till Dec. Although we typically say that winter sets in by Jan, we will see winter-like conditions by Dec this time. With temperature already falling, many parts of the state are experiencing such conditions,” said CS Patil, director, IMD Bengaluru.
