The India Meteorological Department on Wednesday warned that the districts of Mumbai, Raigad and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra would continue to experience a heatwave on Thursday and Friday. The temperature is likely to touch 38 degrees Celsius, which is six degrees above normal.
“The heatwave conditions are for isolated parts of the Konkan coast, including Mumbai, due to a lower-level anti-cyclonic circulation over Gujarat and parts of Maharashtra, which is bringing warm easterly to north-easterly winds over Mumbai and the surrounding areas,” the Hindustan Times quoted KS Hosalikar, the deputy director of IMD (West), as saying. “The easterly winds are also not allowing the sea breeze [cool westerly winds] to settle over the city fast enough.”
The department advised residents of Mumbai to stay indoors and drink enough water to avoid dehydration. “Considering that moisture levels and temperatures are both high, it can lead to dehydration or heat exhaustion,” the newspaper quoted Ajay Kumar, a scientist at the department, as saying.
The India Meteorological Department also said that temperatures warmer than normal might be experienced across India between March and May. “Seasonal [March to May] average temperatures over many of the subdivisions from northwest and neighbouring central India are likely to be above normal by more than one degree Celsius.”
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