Why is Bengaluru’s weather so crazy good? We decode the meteorology

  For Bengalureans, the city’s weather is a badge they wear with pride. It is pleasant pretty much all throughout the year. When it gets too hot, the rain gods are kind enough to throw in a shower for a few minutes and it is back to the lovely, enjoyable weather. Air conditioning is an unnecessary luxury, and even the ceiling-fans are not used for more than a few days every year. This is the kind of weather which makes morning-jogs and evening-walks a pleasure. And it has been a major contributing factor to creating India’s Silicon Valley. As you relax over a weekend, sipping hot tea in the comforts of your home in Bengaluru and you look out of the window to see how pleasant the weather is – have you ever wondered why the city's weather is so damn good? Why does it rain in Bengaluru all the time? Why is it pleasant throughout the year? We looked online and asked experts Ashwin Mahesh, a PhD in Atmospheric Science from University of Washington and Jayaram Jangal of Public Affairs Centre who has studied the climate of Bengaluru. There is also a post on Quora explaining this, which we have tried to independently verify. Before answering the question – Ashwin Mahesh clarifies, “The right question to ask is why Bengaluru’s ‘climate’ like it is is, not ‘weather’.” Yes sir. So here are the reasons. The location: The city is at the centre of the southern peninsula and not too far away from the Arabian Sea or the Bay of Bengal. India has two monsoon branches – Arabian Sea branch and Bay of Bengal branch. It is also categorized in two segments, South-West Monsoon and North East Monsoon. One monsoon hits around May, the other around October and both hit from the different sides of the peninsula. Since the city is at the centre of the peninsula and is not too far off from the coasts on both sides, it benefits from both the monsoons. The altitude: Or ‘elevation’ as the experts put it, the city stands at a height of about 900mts or 3000ft from sea level. Higher the altitude, the colder it tends to get. This is a contributing factor to the general pleasantness of the city. These are the two main reasons. Apart from this, Ashwin Mahesh says that Bengaluru also receives spill-over rains from the cyclones which hit the coasts of Odisha, Andhra and Tamil Nadu. Any cyclone which hits Chennai is sure to bring some rainfall to Bengaluru too, he says. Also, the presence of green cover in the city helps it to remain cooler, says Jangal. But he adds the city’s temperature seems to have risen considerably over the past few years due to surge in population and high-rise concrete buildings. Many also believe that Bengaluru’s weather can act crazy. At mid-day it would be hot and sunny, but before you could finish lunch the weather changes and it is cloudy and pleasant. Why does that happen? Mahesh believes it is more of a perception, there are many places in the world where the weather can be similarly ‘erratic’ and it depends on various factors from humidity, the atmospheric pressure and temperature.