Significant rise in temperature in Pune, IMD advises caution

At 43.4 degrees Celsius, Dhamdhere recorded the highest temperature in the city followed by 43.3 degrees Celsius at Koregaon Park

Pune district is experiencing heatwave-like conditions with a significant rise in temperature in over 60% of its areas. From only six places that reported temperatures at or above 40 degrees Celsius on April 24, at least 22 out of 29 places reported temperatures at or above 40 degrees Celsius on April 28.

On April 18, Shivajinagar had recorded a temperature of 41 degrees Celsius which rose to 41.3 degrees Celsius on April 28. (HT FILE)

At 43.4 degrees Celsius, Dhamdhere recorded the highest temperature in the city followed by 43.3 degrees Celsius at Koregaon Park, 43.1 degrees Celsius at Shirur, and 43 degrees Celsius at Wadgaon Sheri. On April 18, Shivajinagar had recorded a temperature of 41 degrees Celsius which rose to 41.3 degrees Celsius on April 28. The current temperature is above normal levels by 3.2 degrees Celsius.

About the reason for the rise in mercury levels in Pune, Anupam Kashyapi, former head of the weather and forecasting division, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Pune, said, “Hot air is coming from Gujarat over Konkan, north and central Maharashtra. The region did not receive good rain this year, even the pre-monsoon showers were not adequate, resulting in dryness of the soil which is getting heated more. Additionally, there is the impact of moderate El Nino. The wind discontinuity is adding more heat and moisture to the atmosphere. A combination of all these factors has impacted weather conditions in Maharashtra and Pune district.”

The temperature is likely to increase further in the next three to four days, and people should take the utmost precaution by following the summer advisory issued by the IMD, Kashyapi said.

Vineet Kunar, scientist, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), tweeted that as per the latest IMD-GFS forecast, daytime temperature in Pune-Shivajinagar will continue to be in the range of 39 to 41 degrees Celsius between April 29 and May 5. There is no rain expected in Pune during this period.

Meanwhile, many areas from Marathwada and Vidarbha reported below-normal temperature whereas parts of Konkan and the whole of central Maharashtra reported significant rise in temperature. In central Maharashtra, almost all stations except Mahabaleshwar (34.1 degrees Celsius) recorded maximum temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Solapur recorded the highest temperature in the state at 43.7 degrees Celsius whereas Mahabaleshwar recorded the lowest temperature in the state at 22 degrees Celsius.