Not just Bhira, temperature soar in cities across Maharashtra

Even as Bhira, a tiny village located around 150 kilometers south of Mumbai, near Kolad garnered maximum attention for being the hottest place as it witnessed a maximum temperature of 46.5 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, officials from India Meteorological Department (IMD) claimed that this was not something during summers.

“Bhira is an area with a rocky terrain and also has a thermal power station and due to its terrain, temperatures can soar high during summers. It is not something that can be termed unusual. In fact, at such places having temperature six to seven degrees Celsius departure from normal can be observed,” said KS Hosalikar, Deputy Director General, India Meteorological Department.

He further said that IMD has already issued warnings of a heat wave in several parts of Maharashtra due to which the temperatures were likely to soar. “Winds are currently North Westerly and the dry hot winds from Kutch were resulting in the heat wave that is being witnessed even in regions of Gujarat along with Vidharbha and Central Maharashtra,” he said, adding that it might continue for next two to three days.

It was not Bhira alone that saw mercury soaring up for a 24 hours span between Tuesday and Wednesday. Several other cities like Akola (43.8 degrees Celsius), Chandrapur (43.4 degrees Celsius), Malegaon (43.2 degrees Celsius), Nagpur (42.6 degrees Celsius), Pune (40.1 degrees Celsius) and Nashik (40.3 degrees Celsius) also saw temperatures rise. Even Mahabaleshwar, the famous hill station and summer retreat for several weary peopl, recorded a maximum temperature of 33.4 degrees Celsius.