Bangalore geography and environment

Coordinates: 12°58′N 77°34′E / 12.97°N 77.56°E / 12.97; 77.56
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ramanagaram
in the southeast.

Geography

Halasuru
lake, seen from Public Utility Building in MG Road.

Bangalore (region). The Government of Karnataka has carved out the new district of Ramanagara
from the old Bangalore Rural district.

In the 16th century, Kempe Gowda I constructed many lakes to meet Bangalore's water requirements. The Kempambudhi Kere, since overrun by modern development, was prominent among those lakes. In the earlier half of 20th century, the Nandi Hills

Diwan of Mysore, 1926–41 CE) to provide water supply to the city. Currently, the river Kaveri
provides around 80% of the total water supply to the city with the remaining 20% being obtained from the Thippagondanahalli and Hesaraghatta reservoirs of the Arkavathi river.
US gallons) of water a day, more than any other Indian city.[2]
However, Bangalore sometimes does face water shortages, especially during the summer season — more so in the years of low rainfall. A
random sampling study of the air quality index (AQI) of twenty stations within the city indicated scores that ranged from 76 to 314, suggesting heavy to severe air pollution around areas of traffic concentration.[3]

Bangalore has a handful of freshwater lakes and

alluvial sediments. The Peninsular Gneissic Complex (PGC) is the most dominant rock unit in the area and includes granites, gneisses and migmatites, while the soils of Bangalore consist of red laterite and red, fine loamy to clayey soils.[3]

Vegetation in the city is primarily in the form of large deciduous canopy and minority coconut trees. Though Bangalore has been classified as a part of the seismic zone III, it has experienced quakes of magnitude as high as 6.4.

Topography

SSW. The highest point in the city, Doddabettahalli, (962m) is on this ridge. There are gentle slopes and valleys on either side of this ridge. The low-lying area is marked by a series of water tanks
varying in size from a small pond to those of considerable extent, but all fairly shallow.

The topography of Bangalore is undulating with a central

SSW. The highest point is Doddabettahalli, which is 962 m (3,156 ft) and lies on this ridge.[4]
No major rivers run through the city, though the
Ponnaiyar river that flows towards Hosur.[6]

The South Bangalore taluk has an uneven landscape with intermingling hills and valleys. The southern and western portions of the city consist of a topology of granite and gneissic masses. The eastern portion is a plane, with rare minor undulations.

There are no major rivers flowing through the city. However, rivers Arkavathi and

alluvial sediments and jointed quartzite
.

The rock types prevalent in the district belong to the Saugar, Charnokite and Peninsular Gneissic Complex (PGC) groups. The PGC is the dominant group of rocks and covers two-thirds of the area and includes granites, gneisses and migmatites. The soils in Bangalore vary from red laterite to clayey soils.

Climate

Bangalore
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
2.7
 
 
27
15
 
 
7.2
 
 
29
17
 
 
4.4
 
 
32
19
 
 
46
 
 
34
22
 
 
120
 
 
33
21
 
 
81
 
 
29
20
 
 
110
 
 
28
20
 
 
137
 
 
27
19
 
 
195
 
 
28
19
 
 
180
 
 
28
19
 
 
65
 
 
28
17
 
 
22
 
 
26
16
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: World Weather Information Service
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
0.1
 
 
81
59
 
 
0.3
 
 
84
62
 
 
0.2
 
 
90
67
 
 
1.8
 
 
92
71
 
 
4.7
 
 
91
70
 
 
3.2
 
 
85
68
 
 
4.3
 
 
82
67
 
 
5.4
 
 
81
67
 
 
7.7
 
 
82
67
 
 
7.1
 
 
82
66
 
 
2.5
 
 
82
63
 
 
0.9
 
 
79
60
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches
Rainfall and temperature

Due to its elevation, Bangalore enjoys a pleasant and equable climate throughout the year. However, due to deforestation, the temperature has recently risen. The new record is around 40 degrees Celsius in 2016. Winter temperatures rarely drop below 13 °C (52 °F) and summer temperatures seldom exceed 37 °C (97 °F)[7][8]

The hottest summer day on average has a maximum temperature of about 37 degrees celsius, and the coldest winter day has a temperature of about 13 degrees celsius. Occasionally, heat waves can cause temperatures of up to 38 degrees celsius. A cold wave hit in the winter of 2018, leading to temperatures as low as 9 degrees celsius. Bangalore receives about 970 mm of rain annually, with the wettest months being August, September and October. The heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24-hour period was 159.7 mm recorded on 1 October 1997.

Most of the rainfall occurs during late afternoon, evening or night and rain before noon is infrequent. November 2015 (290.4 mm) was recorded as one of the wettest months in Bangalore with heavy rains causing severe flooding in some areas, and closure of a number of organisations for over a couple of days.[8]

Climate data for Bangalore (1981–2010, extremes 1901–2012)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.8
(91.0)
35.9
(96.6)
37.3
(99.1)
38.3
(100.9)
38.9
(102.0)
38.1
(100.6)
33.3
(91.9)
33.3
(91.9)
33.3
(91.9)
32.4
(90.3)
31.7
(89.1)
31.1
(88.0)
38.9
(102.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 27.9
(82.2)
30.7
(87.3)
33.1
(91.6)
34.0
(93.2)
33.3
(91.9)
29.6
(85.3)
28.3
(82.9)
27.8
(82.0)
28.6
(83.5)
28.2
(82.8)
27.2
(81.0)
26.5
(79.7)
29.6
(85.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 15.8
(60.4)
17.5
(63.5)
20.0
(68.0)
22.0
(71.6)
21.7
(71.1)
20.4
(68.7)
19.9
(67.8)
19.8
(67.6)
19.8
(67.6)
19.6
(67.3)
18.0
(64.4)
16.2
(61.2)
19.2
(66.6)
Record low °C (°F) 7.8
(46.0)
9.4
(48.9)
11.1
(52.0)
14.4
(57.9)
16.7
(62.1)
16.7
(62.1)
16.1
(61.0)
14.4
(57.9)
15.0
(59.0)
13.2
(55.8)
9.6
(49.3)
8.9
(48.0)
7.8
(46.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 1.9
(0.07)
5.4
(0.21)
18.5
(0.73)
41.5
(1.63)
107.4
(4.23)
106.5
(4.19)
112.9
(4.44)
147.0
(5.79)
212.8
(8.38)
168.3
(6.63)
48.9
(1.93)
15.7
(0.62)
986.9
(38.85)
Average rainy days 0.2 0.4 1.1 3.1 6.7 6.2 7.2 9.9 9.8 8.3 3.8 1.4 58.1
Average
relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST
)
41 32 29 35 47 62 65 67 64 65 61 53 52
Mean monthly sunshine hours 262.3 247.6 271.4 257.0 241.1 136.8 111.8 114.3 143.6 173.1 190.2 211.7 2,360.9
Source 1: India Meteorological Department[9][10]
Source 2:
NOAA (sun: 1971–1990)[11]
Climate data for
Bangalore Airport
(1981–2010, extremes 1949–2012)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.2
(90.0)
35.0
(95.0)
36.6
(97.9)
38.3
(100.9)
38.0
(100.4)
37.5
(99.5)
33.0
(91.4)
32.2
(90.0)
33.0
(91.4)
32.5
(90.5)
31.7
(89.1)
30.3
(86.5)
38.3
(100.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 27.6
(81.7)
30.3
(86.5)
32.7
(90.9)
33.8
(92.8)
33.1
(91.6)
29.8
(85.6)
28.6
(83.5)
28.1
(82.6)
28.6
(83.5)
28.1
(82.6)
26.9
(80.4)
26.2
(79.2)
29.5
(85.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 14.8
(58.6)
16.2
(61.2)
18.7
(65.7)
21.0
(69.8)
21.2
(70.2)
20.1
(68.2)
19.6
(67.3)
19.5
(67.1)
19.5
(67.1)
19.2
(66.6)
17.5
(63.5)
15.4
(59.7)
18.6
(65.5)
Record low °C (°F) 8.8
(47.8)
10.0
(50.0)
11.7
(53.1)
14.6
(58.3)
16.7
(62.1)
16.1
(61.0)
16.1
(61.0)
15.0
(59.0)
15.6
(60.1)
13.7
(56.7)
10.5
(50.9)
9.2
(48.6)
8.8
(47.8)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 1.4
(0.06)
5.7
(0.22)
15.5
(0.61)
42.7
(1.68)
94.5
(3.72)
91.1
(3.59)
97.7
(3.85)
122.2
(4.81)
183.5
(7.22)
155.9
(6.14)
50.6
(1.99)
13.8
(0.54)
874.6
(34.43)
Average rainy days 0.1 0.3 1.0 2.7 5.5 5.1 7.0 8.9 9.2 8.3 4.1 1.2 53.5
Average
relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST
)
41 31 28 35 46 62 65 67 63 65 61 54 52
Source: India Meteorological Department[9][10]

Seismicity

Because it lies in the seismically stable region, Zone III (encompassing parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh), Bangalore has been untouched by major seismic events. Only mild tremors have been recorded frequently in the city. The largest earthquake that has ever hit the city was of magnitude 6.4 in April 1843.

Land use

Component PIU "ideal" Index Average Score
Air Quality 395 180
Water Quality 130 121
Land 40 37
Terrestrial ecosystem 150 143
Aquatic ecosystem 15 12.5
Socio-economic
(traffic, quality of life, etc.)
270 49.5
Total 1000 542
Table 1: Adapted from Table 17 of "Environment Impact Analysis" (2003) conducted by Bangalore Mass Rapid Transport Limited (BMRTL)

According to data contained in the

Bangalore Mahanagara Palike Master Plan, 40.4% of the land in the city is used for residential purposes. Transport uses 24.3% of the land, while land used for industrial, and commercial
purposes comprise 6.9% and 2.7% respectively. As the city of Bangalore expands, the BMP expects the percentage of land used for industrial purposes to decrease, while it expects the percentages of land used for residential, commercial and public and semi-public purposes to increase.

General metropolitan environment

A

.

The Bangalore metropolitan area, referred to as the

Garden City of India has an abundance of fauna and flora. But now this is gone due to deforestation. The city has two nationally renowned botanical gardens—Cubbon Park and Lal Bagh. A majority of the trees in the city are big to medium canopy trees with girths above 40 cm. Coconut
trees form a large minority of the tree population in the city.

In 2003, the Battelle Environmental Evaluation System (BEES) index used to evaluate environmental components was used to rate Bangalore's physical, biological and socioeconomic parameters. The results are summarized in Table 1.

See also

References

  1. ^ "FAQ". Archived from the original on 6 February 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  2. ^ "Thirsty Bengalooru seeks divine help". Hindustan Times. 2006. HT Media Ltd. 9 June 2003.
  3. ^ a b ""Environmental Impact Analysis"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2006. (362 KB). Bangalore Metropolitan Rapid Transport Corporation Limited.. 2006. Government of Karnataka. 2005.
  4. ^ "Studyarea- Bangalore" Archived 16 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Centre for Ecological Sciences. 2006. Indian Institute of Science.
  5. ^ "Each drop of water counts". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007.. Deccan Herald. 2006. The Printers (Mysore) Ltd. 11 March 2004
  6. ^ "TN now lays claim to City sewage". Deccan Chronicle. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Local Weather Report and Forecast". Archived from the original on 4 February 2006. Retrieved 7 February 2006.
  8. ^ a b "Average Mean Daily Temperature Chart" (GIF). Cpc.ncep.noaa.gov. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Station: Bangalore/Bangaluru Climatological Table 1981–2010" (PDF). Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 81–84. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M88–M89. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Bangalore Climate Normals 1971–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 24 December 2012.

Further reading

12°58′N 77°34′E / 12.97°N 77.56°E / 12.97; 77.56