Mumbai on Sunday recorded a maximum temperature of 41 degrees Celsius, which is 8.2 degrees Celsius above normal, the India Meteorological department said. This was the hottest day in March since 2011, when the temperature had reached 41.3 degrees Celsius.
The severe heatwave conditions in Mumbai and surrounding regions would continue on Monday, the weather agency said. The temperature might rise further, warned Mahesh Palawat, the vice president of meteorology and climate change at Skymet Weather. If that happens, Mumbai would break the record of 41.7 degrees Celsius that was registered on March 28, 1956.
“The rise in temperatures is due to the strong easterly winds and delayed sea breeze,” Nitha T, a scientist at IMD Mumbai, told The Times of India. “Over the last few days, the winds have been westerly which are from the sea to the land and hence much cooler. This changed wind pattern may prevail for the next two days.”
The India Meteorological Department issued a heatwave warning for the districts of Mumbai, Raigad and Ratnagiri on February 28. Between 2001 and 2010, 98 heat waves were recorded across India, compared to 48, 45, 34 and 74 in the previous decades, Business Standard reported. Around 4,620 heatwave-related deaths were reported from 2013 to 2016.
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