Bengaluru, often referred to as the IT city, has witnessed its highest maximum temperature for the month of March in the past five years. On Friday, the temperature soared to 36.4 degrees Celsius, marking the fourth-highest reading in the past 15 years and the third-highest in the last decade. This scorching heat is believed to be a result of global warming and the El Nino effect, which causes the warming of the Pacific Ocean.

According to A Prasad, a scientist at the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in Bengaluru, the impact of El Nino has led to a significant decrease in rainfall during March, resulting in an unusually dry climate. The heat intensified on Saturday, with the mercury rising further to 37 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous day’s record of 36.6 degrees Celsius. This marks the highest temperature recorded in March over the past five years.

The IMD has issued a heatwave warning with a yellow alert for north-interior Karnataka and expects temperatures to be higher than normal across the entire state. Heat wave conditions are highly probable in certain areas of Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, and North Interior Karnataka from April 2nd to 4th, as well as in Rayalaseema from April 1st to 4th. Telangana will also experience a heatwave on April 1st and 2nd, 2024, according to the India Meteorological Department.

Additionally, warm night conditions are expected in isolated regions of Madhya Pradesh on March 31st, Odisha from April 2nd to 4th, Madhya Maharashtra from March 31st to April 3rd, Marathwada on April 1st and 2nd, and Telangana on March 31st and April 1st, 2024. Hot and humid weather is likely over Rayalaseema on March 31st and in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, Kerala, Mahe, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal from March 31st to April 4th. Odisha will also experience the same conditions from April 2nd to 4th, 2024.

The previous day, maximum temperatures exceeded the 95th percentile in isolated areas of Marathwada, and this trend is expected to continue until April 4th in Rayalaseema, Karnataka, Marathwada, and Odisha, from April 4th onward in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, East Madhya Pradesh, and Vidarbha, and from April 3rd in north Tamil Nadu, 2024.