Last summer, Bengaluru scorched at 39.2 degrees Celsius on a day in April.
Bengaluru experienced the highest ever temperature since record keeping began -- 39.2 degrees Celsius -- on a day last April. This year may be hotter. A maximum temperature of 35 degrees Celsius was recorded on Thursday -- and it's still February. Records say the temperature is three degrees above what is normal for this time of year.
Longtime residents of the city say they have never seen such high temperatures in the city at this time of the year.
"I have been living in Bangalore for 50 years, but I have never seen such hot weather in February," said senior advocate Subba Reddy, who had taken his grandsons to Cubbon Park in central Bengaluru - the landmark lung area of the one-time Garden City that has lost almost all its green cover.
Perched 1,000 metres above sea level, Bengaluru was also known as the air-conditioned city. But now, with at least three more months of summer to go, the residents have already started taking measures to cope.
Samson, a resident, has tweaked his diet. "This is a mixture of ragi porridge and buttermilk. It is very hot here, so drinking this cools the body," he said.
His friend Abel added, "Fifteen, 20 years ago when I came to Bangalore it was so cool. There were trees all around and fresh air... Now it is hard to walk on the streets for a few minutes it is getting so hot. So once in a while having a drink like this makes your body cool."
Bengaluru has drinking water supplies to last till May. But if there are no showers till then, the city could be left thirsty. It would mean drawing from the dead storage of the Krishnarajasagara dam in Mandya district, which supplies much of the city's drinking water.
The traffic and the loss of green cover for construction and infrastructure projects has made things worse. Though the temperature has never officially touched 40 degrees Celsius, it is one milestone the city is not keen to reach.