Unrelenting heatwave grips city on Saturday

Officials at the IMD’s regional forecasting centre (RMC) in Mumbai said Saturday’s heatwave was for the second consecutive day. On Friday, the maximum temperature in the city stood at 37.5 degrees Celsius, which was five degrees above normal, following which a heatwave warning was sounded for Saturday

Mumbai: The city on Saturday reeled under a heatwave with the daytime temperature continued to hover six degrees above normal.

Mumbai, India - March 11, 2023: A woman cover their heads and faces with a dupattas in the afternoon heat as mercury rises, at Dadar, in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, March 11, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded a maximum temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius at Santacruz – representative of Mumbai - and 37.4 degrees at Colaba. Mumbai was the hottest location in the state on Saturday.

Officials at the IMD’s regional forecasting centre (RMC) in Mumbai said Saturday’s heatwave was for the second consecutive day. On Friday, the maximum temperature in the city stood at 37.5 degrees Celsius, which was five degrees above normal, following which a heatwave warning was sounded for Saturday.

A heatwave in coastal areas is defined by a maximum temperature being at least five degrees above normal. “Lower-level easterly to northeasterly winds that are warm and dry is delaying the setting of the sea breeze, resulting in higher-than-normal temperatures,” said Sushma Nair, scientist, RMC-Mumbai. “Normally, the sea breeze sets in at 11, but it’s been setting after 1pm over the last two days heating up the land mass. Once the sea breeze sets in, the westerly winds bring down temperatures in the evening.”

IMD has predicted that Sunday will be cooler, but heatwaves are expected at isolated places in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Ratnagiri.

“Wind speeds will become faster from Sunday and the influence of cooling sea breeze will also be felt in the evening times. There is no prolonged heat wave expected at the moment, and in fact, the daytime temperature will drop to around 34 degrees Celsius by March 17,” said the IMD official.