Cold weather grips Bengaluru, fog disrupts flights

Cold weather with minimum temperature below 7 degrees Celsius accompanied by fog has been disrupting flights in Bengaluru, officials said on Friday.

"A minimum temperature of 6.3 degrees Celsius was recorded on Friday morning in Bengaluru, the lowest temperatures witnessed in the past few years," Director of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) G.S. Srinivasa Reddy told IANS here.

The city, however, recorded a maximum temperature of 31 degrees Celsius during the past 24 hours, according to KSNDMC.

"The cold waves from the northern part of the country towards the south have brought down the temperature in the city and is likely to continue for another week," Reddy said.

At least 50 flights were affected since early Friday through delays, diversions to other airports and cancellation of services at the Kempegowda International Airport on the city's outskirts as a result of fog, according to the airport's website.

"As many as 42 flights were delayed and eight flights were diverted due to fog," a statement from the airport said.

The airport also suspended its operations for an hour from 7.05 a.m. to 8.13 a.m. due to poor visibility.

The chilly weather has forced the 10 million residents of the tech hub, known for salubrious climate round the year, to pull out their jackets, sweaters and shawls.

While the minimum temperature was recorded as 6.3 degrees Celsius by KSNDMC, state-run India Meteorological Department's (IMD) Bengaluru centre recorded a minimum temperature of 10 degrees Celsius.

"The KSNDMC has 15 weather recording stations in Bengaluru Urban district while the IMD has stations only in district headquarters and not in other towns, leading to disparities in temperature recordings," Reddy added.

Besides the state capital, cold weather has also been gripping the state's northern districts including Bidar, Kalaburagi and Vijayapura.

Minimum temperatures in the northern districts on Friday stood at about 6 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature was around 30 degrees Celsius.

"As the cold winds from states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh flowing towards south India hit the northern districts of Karnataka first, they have been witnessing colder temperatures," the KSNDMC official assessed.

As result of the low temperatures, the grape crop which is predominantly grown in the northern parts of Vijayapura has been affected.

"Grape crops, which are highly sensitive to low temperatures, have been hit due to the cold temperatures," Reddy added.

--IANS

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