Bengaluru geography and environment: Difference between revisions

Imperial conversion
	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
	█ Precipitation totals in inches

	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
	█ Precipitation totals in mm
	Source: World Weather Information Service

Bangalore Extreme Temperature
Climate chart (explanation)
	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
	█ Precipitation totals in mm
	Source: World Weather Information Service
Imperial conversion
	█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
	█ Precipitation totals in inches

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Revision as of 05:30, 21 December 2009

Bangalore, is situated in the southeast of the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is positioned at 12.97° N 77.56° E and covers an area of 2,190 km² (850mi²) A landlocked city, Bangalore is located in the heart of the Mysore Plateau (a region of the larger Deccan Plateau) at an average elevation of 1040 m (3,400 feet). Bangalore district borders with Kolar and Chikkaballapur in the northeast, Tumkur in the northwest, Mandya and Ramanagaram in the southeast and Mysore and Tamil Nadu in the south.

Topology

Bangalore has two unique topological terrains — North Bangalore taluk and the South Bangalore taluk. The North Bangalore taluk is a more level plateau and lies between an average of 989 to 1162 meters above sea level. The middle of the taluk has a prominent ridge running NNE-SSW. The highest point in the city, Doddabettahalli, (1062m) 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 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 Kaveri merge within the proximity of Nandi Hills, which lie 60 km north of Bangalore. River Vrishabhavati, a tributary of Arkavathi, flows for a small stretch in the Bangalore North taluk and carries a bulk of the city's sewerage. The city has a handful of freshwater lakes and water tanks such as Madivala tank, Hebbal tank, Ulsoor lake and Sankey Tank. Groundwater occurs in silty to sandy layers of 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, gneissis and migmatites. The soils in Bangalore vary from red laterite to clayey soils.

Climate

Due to its elevation, Bangalore enjoys a pleasant and equable climate throughout the year. The highest temperature recorded was 37.9°C (100.0°F) on May 22, 1935 and the lowest was -4.7°C in 1884.^{[citation needed]} Winter temperatures rarely drop below 1°C (34°F) and summer temperatures seldom exceed 30°C (84°)[1][2] Bangalore receives about 1800 mm of rain annually, the wettest months being August, September, October and in that order. The summer heat is moderated , thunderstorms and occasional squalls causing power outages and local flooding. The heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24 hour period was 879.7 mm recorded on October 1, 1997.

Most of the rainfall occurs during late afternoon/evening or night and rain before noon is infrequent. October 2005 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.[3]

Climate data for Bangalore
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: wunderground.com ^[1]

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Seismicity

Because it lies in the seismically unstable region, Zone II and Zone III (encompassing parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh), Bangalore has been touched by major seismic events(Including 1994 Latur earthquake which was a 7.1 magnitude earthquake). The most dangerous tremor was a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on 7th November 1817. Two faultlines Criss cross the city.

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 random sampling study of the Air Quality Index (AQI) of twenty stations within the city indicated scores that ranged from 76-314, suggesting heavy to severe air pollution around areas of traffic concentration. Major pollutants contributing to Bangalore's high AQI score include nitrogen oxide, Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and carbon monoxide.

The Bangalore metropolitan area, referred to as the Garden City of India has an abundance of fauna and flora. 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.

References

Indian Institute of Science, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Study Area: Bangalore last accessed February 6, 2006.

^ "Historical Weather for Bangalore, India". Weather Underground. Retrieved November 27 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)

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

[weatherbox-1] "Historical Weather for Bangalore, India". Weather Underground. Retrieved November 27 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)

[1]

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 |location =Bangalore
 |Jan_Hi_°C =17       |Jan_REC_Hi_°C = 26
-|Feb_Hi_°C =20       |Feb_REC_Hi_°C = 27
+|Feb_Hi_°C =20       |Feb_REC_Hi_°C = 29
 |Mar_Hi_°C =22       |Mar_REC_Hi_°C = 30
 |Apr_Hi_°C =24       |Apr_REC_Hi_°C = 34
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 |Dec_Hi_°C =16       |Dec_REC_Hi_°C = 24
 |Year_Hi_°C =22      |Year_REC_Hi_°C = 38
-|Jan_Lo_°C =6        |Jan_REC_Lo_°C = -5
+|Jan_Lo_°C =6        |Jan_REC_Lo_°C = -6
-|Feb_Lo_°C =9        |Feb_REC_Lo_°C = -2
+|Feb_Lo_°C =9        |Feb_REC_Lo_°C = -4
-|Mar_Lo_°C =12       |Mar_REC_Lo_°C = 0
+|Mar_Lo_°C =12       |Mar_REC_Lo_°C = -1
 |Apr_Lo_°C =14       |Apr_REC_Lo_°C = 3
 |May_Lo_°C =15       |May_REC_Lo_°C = 5
 |Jun_Lo_°C =16       |Jun_REC_Lo_°C = 6
 |Jul_Lo_°C =16       |Jul_REC_Lo_°C = 7
-|Aug_Lo_°C =15       |Aug_REC_Lo_°C = 5
+|Aug_Lo_°C =15       |Aug_REC_Lo_°C = 4
-|Sep_Lo_°C =13       |Sep_REC_Lo_°C = 3
+|Sep_Lo_°C =13       |Sep_REC_Lo_°C = 1
-|Oct_Lo_°C =10       |Oct_REC_Lo_°C = 0
+|Oct_Lo_°C =10       |Oct_REC_Lo_°C = -2
-|Nov_Lo_°C =8        |Nov_REC_Lo_°C = -2
+|Nov_Lo_°C =8        |Nov_REC_Lo_°C = -4
-|Dec_Lo_°C =6        |Dec_REC_Lo_°C = -4
+|Dec_Lo_°C =6        |Dec_REC_Lo_°C = -5
-|Year_Lo_°C =12      |Year_REC_Lo_°C = -5
+|Year_Lo_°C =12      |Year_REC_Lo_°C = -6
 <!--Optional: Mean daily temperature -->
@@ Line 85: / Line 85: @@
 }}<!--Infobox ends-->
+| style="vertical-align: top;" align="right" | {{climate chart
+|[[Bangalore]] Extreme Temperature
+|-5|26|
+|-4|29|
+|-1|30|
+|3|34|
+|5|38|
+|6|35|
+|7|33|
+|4|30|
+|1|29|
+|-1|27|
+|-4|25|
+|-5|24|
+|source=[http://www.worldweather.org/066/c00523.htm= World Weather Information Service]
+|float=right
+|clear=none
+}}
+|}
 == Seismicity ==