This marks the second time in two weeks that the IMD has issued a heatwave advisory for the city. Following a brief respite, the coastal city is likely to experience hot and humid conditions on Friday, which are expected to intensify into a heatwave on Sunday and Monday.
According to IMD data, the Colaba observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 35.3 degrees Celsius on Thursday afternoon, more than five degrees above normal. Daytime temperatures in Colaba reached 35.5 degrees. This follows the city’s maximum temperature of 37.4 degrees on Wednesday.
Despite the high daytime temperatures, night conditions remain relatively cooler. On Thursday morning, the suburban areas reported a minimum temperature of 18.6 degrees Celsius, which was somewhat below the seasonal average.
With temperatures rising, the weather department issued a yellow warning for Mumbai on Thursday, indicating that hot and humid conditions are likely to persist in isolated areas of the city until Friday.
The IMD has also issued a heatwave warning for the weekend, with temperatures expected to rise above 38 degrees from 9 March (Sunday) to 10 March (Monday). Meteorologists attribute the heatwave-like temperatures to an anticyclone system emerging in the region.
Speaking to *The Indian Express*, Nitha Sasidharan, a scientist from IMD Mumbai, explained that an anticyclone system is gradually settling over the Maharashtra region, bringing strong easterly winds from the interior parts of the country. “Since these easterlies are strong, they will delay the westerly winds, which is the sea breeze, from setting in. This is expected to result in temperatures spiking by 4–5 degrees above normal.”
A heatwave warning is typically issued when a city experiences temperatures of 4–5 degrees above normal for at least two consecutive days.
Earlier, the weather department issued a heatwave alert on 25 and 26 February after the city reported temperatures above 38 degrees for several days.
The IMD has also forecast scattered light to moderate rainfall and snowfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Nagaland on 7 March.
In its bulletin issued on Friday, the weather department stated that hot and humid weather is very likely to prevail over Konkan, Goa, Kerala, Mahe, and Coastal Karnataka on 7 and 8 March, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam on 7 March, and the Gujarat Region on 9 and 10 March. The IMD also added that a heatwave is very likely to prevail over Konkan and Goa on 9 and 10 March.
