Hot weather reigns in city, power surges highest in 3 months

The sweltering hot weather conditions have spurted the demand for electricity in the first week of October itself, which has surpassed 3550 megawatts (Mw) in Mumbai, the highest since summer ended

Mumbai: With the withdrawal of the monsoon from the city on October 6, it has taken no time for the intense heat to return with a vengeance, increasing power consumption. On Monday, Santacruz recorded a maximum temperature of 35.9 degrees Celsius, 3 degrees above normal. The humidity was 86% at 8.30am. The maximum temperature recorded in Colaba was 33 degrees Celsius, with the humidity at 88%. The maximum temperature for the next few days will continue to remain in the range of 34 to 36 degrees Celsius, according to Sushma Nair, scientist at IMD Mumbai. The average temperature in October is between 33 to 34 degrees Celsius.

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“Despite the temperature just being a few degrees above normal and not reaching heat wave-like conditions, the weather is not going to be comfortable for the next six to seven days. This is because the easterly winds are bringing dry air into the city,” said Nair.

The forecast for Santacruz over the next couple of days wavers between 34 -35 degrees Celsius and 33-34 degrees Celsius for Colaba.

The sweltering hot weather conditions have spurted the demand for electricity in the first week of October itself, which has surpassed 3550 megawatts (Mw) in Mumbai, the highest since summer ended. The state, too, has seen power demand surge to over 27300Mw, possibly owing to the increased use of air containers.

“The electricity demand hovered around 2900Mw over the last week of September. Last week, it touched 3200Mw, though the demand in the rest of the state was 23000Mw. Now there is a sudden increase in demand, and this afternoon it crossed 3500Mw in Mumbai, which is the highest in the last three months,” said a power expert. During the Ganpati festival, there were rains in parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, that reduced electricity demand to around 20000Mw and 2500-2700Mw respectively. But since then, the demand has been surging.

The power experts blame the low monsoon, as compared to the previous year, for the hike in demand for power. This month could see a worse situation owing to the heat until winter begins. Earlier this summer, the electricity demand in Mumbai had surpassed a record 4000Mw.