Winter, a ‘hot affair’, in Pune this year

In Pune, warm atmospheric conditions will keep day temperatures close to 30 degrees Celsius mark, whereas the minimum temperatures will range between 16 and 17 degrees Celsius, said IMD officials

Winter seems to be eluding major parts of Maharashtra so far this year. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), on Saturday said that winter across the country will be warmer than usual.

Winter seems to be eluding major parts of Maharashtra so far this year. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), on Saturday said that winter across the country will be warmer than usual. (HT FILE)

In Pune, warm atmospheric conditions will keep the day temperatures close to the 30 degrees Celsius mark, whereas the minimum temperatures in the city will range between 16 and 17 degrees Celsius, said IMD officials.

According to IMD, Maharashtra is clocking higher numbers in minimum temperatures despite partly cloudy skies which are caused by the low pressure area over equatorial Indian Ocean and adjoining Southwest Arabian Sea. According to IMD, there is an associated cyclonic circulation extending upto 5.8 km above mean sea level tilting southwestwards with height. It is likely to move west-northwestwards and become more marked during the next 48 hours.

Anupam Kashyapi, head, IMD, said, “When cooler winds go from north to the south, we witness winter, but the anticyclone is stopping the northerly winds from reaching the southern peninsula, resulting in higher temperatures here.”

According to IMD forecast, Pune will experience partly cloudy weather with slight drizzle of rain on December 3 and 4.

The maximum temperature will vary between 30 and 29 degrees Celsius and minimum temperature will hover in the range of 17-15 degrees Celsius over the week starting from December 1 to December 6.

According to the agency, not just in Maharashtra, winter in most parts of central and peninsular India will also be marked by higher temperatures.

“Minimum temperatures over most parts of central and peninsular India are likely to be warmer than normal by ≥ 1 degrees Celsius. The season averaged mean temperatures are likely to be warmer than normal by 0.5 degrees Celsius over most subdivisions of the peninsular India and some subdivisions of east and central India,” according to the Seasonal Temperature Outlook for December 2019 to February 2020.

According to Kashyapi, there is a visible increase in the minimum temperature in some parts of east Rajasthan, west Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat region and central Maharashtra; appreciably above normal in some parts of Konkan and Goa, Marathwada and Vidarbha.

On Saturday, the temperature in Ratnagiri was at 24.8 degrees Celsius, Panaji at 24.4 degrees Celsius, Pune at 17.4 degrees Celsius, Ahmednagar at 11.2 degrees Celsius, Kolhapur at 21.1 degrees Celsius, Mahableshwar at 16.5 degrees Celsius, Malegaon at 18.3 degrees Celsius and Nashik at 17.3 degrees Celsius