Panaji: Tuesday night was Goa’s third-hottest summer night in half a century, as metereorological data has revealed a temperatue of 28.6°C, just short of the all-time April high of 29.2°C, recorded 30 years ago in Goa on April 27, 1995.This is also the third-consecutive hottest night this month, with temperatures of over 28°C being recorded since Monday.Minimum temperature, recorded just after sunrise rather than at midnight, reflects how much the atmosphere cools overnight. When this number remains high, it signals sustained heat stress.“Traditionally, we discuss how low temperatures drop in winter, but now the opposite is being examined: how high the minimum temperature remains during summer nights,” said IMD director Nahush Kulkarni.He further said that three of the top six highest minimum temperatures in 50 years have been recorded this year, within just days of one another, pointing to a recent clustering of unusually-warm nights (see infographic). The past few days have seen the fifth-highest and sixth-highest temperatures of the past 50 years.Kulkarni attributed the phenomenon primarily to high atmospheric moisture and cloud cover. “Moisture-laden air acts like a thermal blanket, trapping heat near the surface and preventing temperatures from dropping overnight. This is linked to what meteorologists describe as an inversion-like effect, where heat is retained between the surface and the lower atmosphere. Even partial cloudiness can intensify this effect, leading to elevated night-time temperatures. The moisture and cloud patches create a barrier that holds latent heat close to the ground. This results in higher minimum temperatures and increased discomfort,” he said.Relief, however, may be on the horizon. Forecasts indicate that minimum temperatures could gradually decline over the next two to three days, settling between 26°C and 28°C. Daytime highs are expected to remain in the range of 34°C to 36°C.
