Dark cloud are seen over Bengaluru in the wake of the movement of Cyclone Asani. (PTI Photo)
Parts of northwest India are reeling under heatwave-like conditions with daytime temperature in national capital Delhi expected to hover around 44 degrees Celsius over the weekend. There is no respite in sight for Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and the Vidarbha region till Sunday.
On the other hand, the people of Bengaluru are enjoying cool breeze. On Wednesday, the city's temperature was recorded 23 degrees Celsius - 11 degrees cooler than usual - due to the remnants of Cyclone Asani. This means that the Garden City, which is already known for its weather, is cooler than hill stations like Shimla (in Himachal Pradesh) and Mussoorie (in Uttarakhand), according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The news is going viral on social media, with many Twitter users posting screenshots of weather apps on their phone. Many users said they are planning to shift to Bengaluru.
"Packing bags already!" a user tweeted. "Bangalore giving hill stations a run for their money," said another.
Here are some more tweets:
According to IMD's regional office, Bengaluru is expected to witness partly cloudy conditions with light showers till May 17.
On May 18 and 19, there is a possibility of rain or thunderstorm, the IMD said in its weekly forecast.
Delhi, meanwhile, is experiencing high temperature. The IMD has issued a yellow alert, warning of a heatwave at most places in the national capital on Friday and Saturday.
An orange alert has been issued to caution people about a severe heatwave on Sunday.
The IMD uses four colour codes - green (no action needed), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared) and red (take action) - for weather warning.
A heatwave spell was predicted over Delhi from Sunday last, but easterly winds prevailing in the national capital under the impact of Cyclone Asani shielded the city against it.
Greenpeace India recently released a report which said that last month's heatwave in Delhi saw the maximum touching 43.5 degrees Celsius on April 29, well above the average maximum temperature for the month. An analysis of the historical daily temperature for April from 1970 to 2020 shows that only four years have recorded a value higher than 43 degrees Celsius, it added.