Mumbai: Relentless heatwave continued to bake the city for the third consecutive day, making it the hottest location in India on Sunday with the daytime maximum temperature soaring to 39.4 degrees Celsius, six notches above normal temperature for the day, according to IMD base weather station in Santacruz.
The IMD’s Colaba station, meanwhile, recorded a maximum temperature of 35.8 degrees Celsius, which was 4 degrees above normal. The city on Saturday, too, had been India’s hottest location as per the official monitoring station with the maximum temperature settling at 38.5 degrees Celsius, 6 degrees above normal. There is, however, no heatwave warning for Monday, March 13.
A heatwave in coastal areas is defined by a maximum temperature being at least five degrees above normal. Sushma Nair, a meteorologist with the IMD’s regional centre in the city explained that warm, dry easterly to north-easterly winds in the lower levels of the atmosphere are influencing the cooling effect of sea breezes on the city. Saturday’s spike in temperature can be attributed largely to the presence of an anticyclone over Mumbai.
“When the sea breeze sets in before 11am, it’s because the landward side is usually cooler and this causes the wind to blow a certain way. But because the easterly winds are making the city warmer than usual, the sea breeze starts blowing later in the day, and temperatures remain above normal. Typically, anticyclones don’t allow air to move, and so we may also see air quality become poorer because the air is not rising and pollutants are not dispersing, despite rising temperatures,” said Sushma Nair, scientist, RMC-Mumbai.
{{/usCountry}}“When the sea breeze sets in before 11am, it’s because the landward side is usually cooler and this causes the wind to blow a certain way. But because the easterly winds are making the city warmer than usual, the sea breeze starts blowing later in the day, and temperatures remain above normal. Typically, anticyclones don’t allow air to move, and so we may also see air quality become poorer because the air is not rising and pollutants are not dispersing, despite rising temperatures,” said Sushma Nair, scientist, RMC-Mumbai.
{{/usCountry}}The city’s AQI, as per the CPCB’s daily bulletin, touched 186 (‘moderate’) on Sunday, up slightly from 168 (‘moderate’) on Saturday, and Friday’s 145 (also ‘moderate’). IMD officials added that the anti-cyclone is expected to weaken and become more disorganised from Monday, and usual wind patterns (along with the moderating effect of sea breeze) are expected to resume, bringing about a reduction in temperature. Though the mercury will remain markedly above normal on Monday, it is expected to come closer to normal by March 18, when the maximum temperature in Santacruz is forecasted to settle around 33 degrees Celsius.
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