Shivamogga,, DHNS: Shivamogga, known as the gateway to the rainy region of Malnad, is witnessing unusually high temperature so early this summer. For the first time in the last 13 years, the city recorded 42 degrees Celsius in March. The temperature usually crosses 40 only in April or May, according to the Water Resources Department.

The maximum temperature on March 22 was 42. The previous maximum temperature in March was 41 degrees Celsius in 2003. Except for that, the city’s temperature never exceeded 40 in March.

What’s more, Shivamogga’s minimum temperature is also touching up to 25. It was 25 degrees Celsius on March 11. Usually the minimum temperature will be around 20 or less during March.

S R Nagaraj, an assistant executive engineer in the Water Resources Department, expects Shivamogga’s maximum temperature to touch 47 in April and May. “We expected moderate rainfall during Holi. But there has been no rainfall so far. The maximum temperature in Shivamogga this month is higher than in the neighbouring district of Davangere where it was 40 degrees,” he said.

B M Kumaraswamy, an environmentalist who was a member of the Western Ghats Task Force, said the high temperature was a clear indication that the Malnad region was also affected by global warming. Earlier, high temperatures were seen in districts like Raichur, Kalaburagi and northern parts of the State, he said.

“The scenario has changed now. The increasing real estate activity and the spike in vehicle population in the last five years have contributed to the rise in mercury,” he told Deccan Herald. “Before the industrial revolution, the global average temperature was 14 degrees Celsius. Now, it is 15.”

He said the severe drought in northern Karnataka, flash floods in Chennai and heavy rains in Abu Dhabi, known for its desert climate, were some of the phenomena of global warming.