The Bangalore Climate

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: I do not like heat. I do not like humidity.

I fear the Indian subcontinent has those in abundance. . .

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My first thought after hearing "We'd like you to help get our new studio in Bangalore up and running" was "I'm not going to India! It's hot in India! and probably really humid!". My first action was to type Bangalore, India into Google's map search box. What I found did not in any way, shape, or form comfort me. In fact it was just the opposite: Bangalore was way way down in the southern part of the country, and right smack dab in the middle. That had to mean "hot & humid", didn't it?. Plus, Bangalore was nowhere near the coast, where one might expect at the very least a cool breeze from time to time.

My second thought was "There's now way I'm going to Bangalore." My second action was to type Bangalore, India into Wikipedia's search box. After skipping down to the Climate section, one of the first things I read was Bangalore has a salubrious climate.

My third thought was "What the heck does salubrious mean?". My third action was to type salubrious into Dictionary.com's search box.

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sa·lu·bri·ous /səˈlubriəs/
–adjective
favorable to or promoting health; healthful: salubrious air.
[Origin: 1540–50; <>

My fourth and fifth thoughts were "Hmmm. . .they wouldn't really consider heat and humidity as promoting health, would they?" and "What are the chances that these Wikipedians are sadists?". My fourth action was to return to Wikipedia and read more about Bangalore and it's climate.

It turns out that Bangalore sits at an altitude of about 3000 feet, which gives the steamy air plenty of time to dry out and cool off as it makes it's way up from sea level. The hottest part of the year in Bangalore is in and around April, where temperatures can reach upwards of 100 degrees. However, I would only be here from August through to the end of the year, during which temperatures looked like they would be much more moderate. Granted August through September and into October is the so-called monsoon season, but I figured monsoon rains were far preferable to stifling heat.

I decided that the climate should not be much of a factor in deciding whether or not to come to Bangalore, India. I hoped that what I was reading was the truth.

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Drumroll please. . .

I've been here for a month. I have not yet been uncomfortable.

and there was much rejoicing. . .

Temperatures have probably ranged from the mid-70's to the mid-80's. We are definitely in the middle of monsoon season, however. We have cloudy skies most days (to which my photographs on previous blog entries will attest), some days the clouds and sky are very dark all day long. We haven't seen much of the sun, although we've had probably more sunshine this past week than the previous three weeks combined. Some days are definitely a bit more humid than others, but the more humid days are also the days with the most cloud cover, which tends to keep the daytime temperature down, and hence the effect of the humidity as well. Temperatures do not dip much at night, if at all. I doubt it rarely gets below 70 degrees around here. I leave a couple of the ceiling fans on all the time (assuming we have power).

The monsoon rains come a few days per week, usually after 5pm. Sometimes it's a hard rain, sometimes it's a torrential rain. Sometimes it rains for a few minutes, sometimes it rains for a couple of hours straight. Sometimes the rain brings strong winds with it. The past few days the rain has also brought thunder and lightning along for the ride. We had a couple of lightning strikes today that felt like they were literally right outside: the thunderclap followed the lightning flash immediately and proceeded to shake the entire building. It's really quite impressive at times.

The monsoon rains along the coast and up north are said to be relentless at times: it can and does rain for days on end. Add in the 90% humidity in these less fortunate parts of the country and I will take the Bangalore climate any day and be very grateful.

So the climate is mostly as advertised. I carry an umbrella in my bag. I brought shoes suitable for rain and the ensuing mud. The rains will last another four to six weeks but should then begin to taper off. The heat and rain in the north and along the coast should also abate come October, which means it will be time to stretch the tourist wings a bit further and wider.

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A final possibly interesting note:
Sunrise and sunset in Bangalore is currently about 6:10am and 6:30pm, respectively. Bangalore sits at just 12 degrees north latitude: nearly on the equator. The sunrise and sunset times do not vary much throughout the year. Sunrise on June 21st is 5:55am; sunrise on December 21st is 6:37am; sunset on June 21st is 6:48pm; sunset on December 21st is 6:00pm.

Being this close to the equator also means that there is very little twilight; complete and utter darkness is only 35 or 40 minutes away on either side of sunrise or sunset.