Bengaluru, Sept. 13: The heat is on in the city’s IT corridors. A recent study on ‘Land Surface Temperature with Land Cover Dynamics: Multi-Resolution, Spatio-Temporal Data Analysis of Greater Bangalore’ has revealed that the glass buildings which house IT companies in ITPL and Electronic City have made them the hottest places in Bengaluru with a 4-degree increase in temperature.
According to the study undertaken by the Energy and Wetland Research Group headed by Prof. T.V. Ramachandra, the temperature in Bengaluru has gone up by 2 degrees in the last 10 years, and by 4 degrees in areas that are now termed as ‘heat islands’.
“The study was aimed at analysing the role of increased urbanisation. The analysis showed that there has been a 466 per cent increase in the built-up area from 1973 to 2007 as is evident from the temporal analysis leading to a sharp decline of 61 per cent area of water bodies. Land use changes were more prominent in the city during the last two decades due to the rapid urbanisation,” Prof. Ramachandra said.
“This, accompanied with an urban sprawl, the boom in the IT and BT sectors and the consequent migration of people from different regions added to the changes in land use,” Prof. Ramachandra explained.
The study on temperature rise and heat islands was taken up in Whitefield and Electronic City due to the presence of a large number of glass structures in these areas.
“The buildings having glass walls which are not suitable for a tropical country like India. These European-style structures are designed to capture heat. But the same structures if built here heat up the neighbourhood and force the building residents to go for air-conditioning,” Prof. Ramachandra added.
The researchers are now pressing for a compulsory 30 per cent landscaping at every corridor so that the heat levels are brought down.
“Land surface temperatures were comparatively lower in areas with parks, healthy vegetation and lakes that aid in reducing the heat in these areas. The landscaping must be done in such a way that large trees are planted instead of just laying a lawn,” he said.
IISc to probe urban impact on lakes (http://www.deccanchronicle.com/neutral/iisc-probe-urban-impact-lakes-427)
Bengaluru, April 1: Indian Institute of Science’s Energy and Wetland Research Group has started a detailed biological survey of 12 city lakes to assess the impact of urbanisation on wetlands in Bengaluru.
The lakes — Ullal, Mallathahalli, Kommagatta, Ramasandra, Jakkur, Rachenahally, Sampigehalli, Venkateshapura, Somapura, Konasandra, Thalagattapura and Kothnur — are currently being developed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and these projects will now be monitored by IISc researchers who will study the changing biological diversity in and around the lakes.
Dr T.V. Ramachandra of the Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, told this newspaper that the study aims to detail the changes that have occurred in the eco-systems around the lakes and the adaptation by species dependent on the water bodies.
“The wetlands of Bengaluru have always been under tremendous pressure due to urbanisation. The impact over the past four decades is clearly discernible,” Dr Ramachandra said.
“The researchers will study the micro-organisms that thrive in the lakes and the various food chains in these water bodies.”
Jakkur Lake, for instance, attracts hundreds of pelicans every year, with the birds nesting in the lake in August and September.
“If the number of pelican nests are dwindling, one can make a correlation to a disturbance in the environment that the lake offers the birds. It could be that there are other birds which are better adapted to the urban environment are replacing the pelicans. We felt the need for a comprehensive study which also includes diatoms and amphibians to gauge the reasons for possible biological imbalances,” Dr Ramachandra said.
Once known for its pristine wetland systems, Bengaluru has today become a city of shrinking lakes. Encroachment is the major cause for the water bodies vanishing as are cuts in channels that connect them.