Mercury dips to 8.6 degrees in Bagalkote

NT Correspondent

Bagalkote: Bagalkote recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 8.6 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest place in the plains of the state on Tuesday. India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that some places in both north and south Karnataka would experience colder than usual temperature in the days to come.

“Minimum temperature likely to be below normal by 4 to 5 degrees Celsius at isolated places over interior Karnataka,” an IMD statement said. IMD had declared cold wave conditions for some parts of north Karnataka in the past week.

Bidar, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Mysuru and Davangere districts were especially hit. For a cold wave to be declared by IMD, minimum temperatures of below 10 degrees should be recorded by two stations in a single sub-division. North Interior Karnataka (NIK) for instance is one such sub-division.

Every district generally has two to three stations which are geographically spread apart. Departure from normal should be -4.5 (degrees) to -6.4 (degrees) for a cold wave to be declared. If the departure from the normal is more than -6.4 (degrees), then it is a severe cold wave condition.

These parameters apply only for the plains and not hilly areas. For the hilly areas, cold wave conditions are declared by IMD if the temperature dropped below zero degrees.