Mumbai: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heatwave warning for isolated areas in Mumbai, Thane, and Raigad on March 9 and 10, marking the second such alert within two weeks. With temperatures expected to soar past 38°C, residents have been advised to brace for extreme heat.
Following a brief respite, Mumbai is witnessing a sharp rise in daytime temperatures. The IMD has also placed the city under a yellow warning for hot and humid conditions, which are likely to persist until Friday. Despite the daytime surge, night temperatures have remained relatively cooler, with suburban areas recording a minimum of 18.6°C on Thursday morning—over one degree below normal.
Meteorologists attribute the rising heat to an anticyclone system developing over Maharashtra. Nitha Sasidharan, a scientist at IMD Mumbai, explained that strong easterly winds from the country’s interior regions are delaying the westerly sea breezes, pushing temperatures 4-5 degrees above normal.
A heatwave is officially declared when temperatures remain 4-5°C above normal for at least two consecutive days. This marks the second time this year that Mumbai has faced extreme heat, with the last heatwave alert issued on February 25-26 when temperatures peaked at 38.7°C—the highest recorded in eight years.
