Panaji: The timely onset of the southwest monsoon has finally brought relief to Goa after what meteorologists describe as one of the warmest and most uncomfortable months of May in recent memory.While temperatures were only marginally above normal on average, a prolonged spell of intense heat combined with unusually high humidity and warm nights made conditions particularly oppressive across the state.“May 2026 can be considered one of the warmest months in Goa’s recorded weather history. While daytime heat was extreme on most days, night temperatures also remained above 27°C for an unusually long period,” said M R Ramesh Kumar, retired chief scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and a meteorologist.According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Panaji recorded a mean maximum temperature of 34.9°C in May, 1.1°C above normal. The mean minimum temperature stood at 27.3°C, around 1°C above normal.The discomfort was particularly severe during the first half of the month. Maximum temperatures crossed 36°C on eight days, remaining more than 2°C above normal and creating near heatwave-like conditions. Between May 6 and May 12, temperatures stayed above 36°C on six of seven days.Equally significant was the absence of relief at night. Minimum temperatures crossed 28°C on eight occasions and touched 29°C twice during the month. Even on cooler days, nighttime temperatures largely remained between 26°C and 27°C, resulting in persistent thermal discomfort and sleepless nights for many residents.“Earlier, cooler nights would bring relief, but higher minimum temperatures in May reduced nocturnal cooling and increased thermal discomfort,” Kumar said.Relief arrived only towards the end of the month with increased pre-monsoon activity and the eventual advance of the southwest monsoon, which brought intermittent rainfall and a noticeable drop in temperatures.Kumar attributed the unusually uncomfortable conditions partly to warmer sea surface temperatures in the Arabian Sea off Goa’s coast.“Warmer sea surface temperatures have substantially increased moisture content in the atmosphere, making the ‘feels-like’ temperature much higher than the actual air temperature,” he said.The state also experienced one of its driest pre-monsoon periods for much of the season, particularly in May. Although rainfall ended the season with a modest surplus, this was largely due to increased pre-monsoon showers towards the close of summer.Meteorologists believe multiple factors contributed to the extreme conditions, including rising urbanisation, shrinking green cover, urban heat island effects and broader climate change trends.“Remote forcing associated with El Nino conditions in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean could also have triggered and aggravated the rise in temperatures,” Kumar said.A recent global study based on observed data found that May 2026 was the second warmest May recorded worldwide, with global air temperatures averaging 1.4°C above pre-industrial levels.
