Mumbai: Mercury continued to climb steadily as maximum temperatures touched 36°C, 2.6° above normal, making Tuesday the hottest day of this month so far. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for hot and humid conditions in isolated pockets of Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Palghar for Wednesday and Thursday.Tuesday’s maximum temperature was higher compared to the previous day, when the Colaba and Santacruz observatories recorded 33.7°C and 35°C, respectively.Meteorologists attribute the rising heat to the absence of active western disturbances over northwest India, coupled with a dominant anticyclone over the Arabian Sea influencing weather patterns across Maharashtra, including Mumbai. “This has led to a spike in temperatures over Mumbai today, while Navi Mumbai and the rest of Mumbai Metropolitan Region saw maximum temperature of 38-40°C,” said Athreya Shetty independent weather forecaster. “Hot and humid weather will persist the next few days, but will see fluctuations of a few degrees as sea breeze timing varies. With western disturbances making a return from April 19, the city can expect minor relief in temperatures from the weekend.“The IMD alert follows an unusually harsh March for the city, which saw heatwave warnings in three out of four weeks, indicating a sharp and sustained spike in temperatures.The first heatwave alert of the season was issued as early as March 5 for Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar, when the city recorded its highest maximum temperature of this year at 38.9°C, 5.9°C above normal. A heatwave is declared when temperatures touch 37°C or more for two consecutive days.
