At 38.1°C, city records hottest day of the year; light rain expected

Citizens might get some respite from the hot, dusty weather with the IMD predicting a chance of light rain on March 7. Evening hours over the weekend have already begun to get cloudy, an official pointed out, while unseasonal rains lashed some parts of the Palghar district, causing damage to crops

Mumbai: The city on Sunday reeled under the combination of hot weather and poor air quality with the daytime maximum temperature touching 38.1 degrees Celsius- five notches above normal for this time of the year. According to India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Santacruz observatory, this was the hottest day of its early summer season.

Mumbai, India - March 5, 2023: Boats are floating in the hazy weather near the Bandra worli sea link in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, March 5, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

At the IMD’s coastal station in Colaba, the daytime maximum reading was 5°C higher than normal at 36.2 degrees Celsius. The air quality index (AQI) for Mumbai settled at 260 (‘poor’) as per the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily bulletin.

Citizens might get some respite from the hot, dusty weather with the IMD predicting a chance of light rain on March 7. Evening hours over the weekend have already begun to get cloudy, an official pointed out, while unseasonal rains lashed some parts of the Palghar district, causing damage to crops.

“Westerly winds and easterly winds are blowing into one another over parts of north and Central India including the Konkan coast. Winds that come from the Arabian Sea are cooler, moisture-bearing winds while those coming from the east are drier and hotter. The meeting of these winds sometimes results in drizzles and thunderstorms, too, but any relief from them will be short-lived as the humidity levels will go up sharply after this weather system has passed,” the IMD official said.