Residents of Bengaluru woke up to an unusually chilly Christmas morning, experiencing one of the coldest winter days the city has seen in more than ten years. A significant cold spell extended across large parts of Karnataka, marking a sharp dip in seasonal temperatures.
A Record-Breaking Chill
According to data from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), several areas within Bengaluru Urban district recorded a minimum temperature of 11.2 degrees Celsius on December 25, 2025. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported a reading of 13.4°C at the Bengaluru airport. While the city's all-time low of 8.9°C was set back in 1883, this Christmas morning chill stands as the second closest to that historic record since 2012. The only colder spell in this period was in December 2016, when the mercury fell to 12°C.
State-Wide Winter Grip
The cold wave was not confined to the state capital. Data reveals that a majority of Karnataka's districts felt the bite. In the northern region, Bidar district registered a severe low of 6.5°C in the early hours of Thursday. The KSNDMC noted that 27 out of the state's 31 districts recorded minimum temperatures below 11°C. The only four districts that recorded readings above this mark were Bengaluru Urban and Davanagere (both at 11.2°C), Udupi (16.6°C), and Dakshina Kannada (17.4°C).
Forecast and Relief in Sight
There is some expectation that the intense winter conditions will ease slightly in the coming days. The IMD's extended range forecast models indicate a moderation in the cold. For the period from December 26 to January 1, minimum temperature anomalies are predicted to be around 0 to 2 degrees below normal. This is a notable shift from the previous week (December 19 to 25), when temperatures were as much as 5 degrees below normal. Earlier, the IMD had forecast normal or below-normal minimum temperatures for many parts of the country, including peninsular India, which aligns with the current conditions.
The unseasonal chill provided a unique, if brisk, Christmas experience for Bengaluru, a city more accustomed to milder winter weather, underscoring a significant meteorological event for the region.
