When you go to the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, don’t be surprised if you are feeling warmer than usual. It’s because the airport has raised the temperature of its air conditioning systems in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From the outset of the pandemic, air conditioning to keep surroundings cooler has been discouraged, for it is an ideal environment for the virus, and increasing fresh air circulation has been encouraged. Bangalore Airport is taking similar measures.
In a communication to TNM, Archana Muthappa of Bengaluru International Airport Limited said that air conditioning temperature has “increased to 25°C to comply with recommendations of temperature range between 24–30°C.”
“With this change in temperature setpoint, all air-conditioned premises at BLR Airport will be maintained at 25 ±1°C. In the pre-COVID-19 period, the temperature at the Terminal was maintained at 23 ±1°C,” she said.
So, Bengaluru Airport is being kept around two degrees warmer in light of the pandemic.
In addition to this, TNM has also learnt that fresh air intake in air-conditioned premises at the airport has been “enhanced above the recommended level” as well. The air conditioning equipment filters and coils are being put through periodic disinfection too, Archana said.
Bengaluru has been seeing a surge in daily coronavirus cases for the past couple of weeks. Save some days last week, the city has reported over 2,000 new patients every day.
On Thursday, Bengaluru reported 2,207 new coronavirus cases, while Karnataka reported 5,030 new cases, making it the first time the state has crossed the 5,000 mark. This comes a day after the week-long lockdown in Bengaluru was lifted.
While Karnataka has 48,931 active COVID-19 cases, Bengaluru makes up for 29,090 of them. The city has over 9,800 containment zones. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has not released the new containment zones for two days now.