April 5 hottest day of the year in city

BANGALORE: For Bangaloreans who have been complaining about soaring temperatures this year, the Indian Meteorological Department brings some good news. The MET department has claimed that summer showers will be recorded in city this week. “Rains are expected in Bangalore this week. However, there were many days this month, where maximum temperature crossed 36 degrees Celsius,” said an officer from the MET department.While Gulbarga experienced over 43 degree this summer, the hottest day was recorded at 40 degrees Celsius this month. Meanwhile, April 5 was the hottest day of the year in Bangalore, with the temperature crossing 38 degree Celsius, the officer said.The increasing number of infrastructure projects, traffic congestion and pollution in all forms have made matters worse. “Most of the trees in the city have been cut down to support development. Private builders also have many projects going on and around 50,000 vehicles are being added every month to the city. Bangalore would soon become like Gulbarga, if these things continue,” said Kirtana, an environmentalist.Meanwhile, matters at Gulbarga are going from bad to worse as the heat continues to affect the district. Last May, the district recorded the highest maximum temperature in the entire state, going up to 46 degree Celsius. The MET department earlier this week declared that April was the driest month that Bangalore has had in the last 10 years. Further, statistics by the Indian MET department also show that in the last 20 years, Bangalore has experienced maximum temperature above 35.5 degree Celsius in the month of March.