In Mumbai, the maximum temperature was 34.6 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal, on Monday.
It may be over three weeks to Holi, but large parts of the country have already witnessed soaring temperatures. On Monday, much like last week, the Delhi-NCR region and other major cities in the northwest and plains continued to experience above-normal temperatures.
At Safdarjung, the maximum temperature, 30.8 degrees Celsius, was six degrees above normal, and the minimum temperature, 16.4 degree Celsius, was five degrees above normal. The Ridge area was the hottest area in the capital on Monday, recording 31.5 degrees Celsius.
In Mumbai, the maximum temperature was 34.6 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal, on Monday. Even on the western coast, Mumbaikars are coping with sultry weather as daytime temperatures are above normal, hovering between 34 and 36 degrees Celsius.
Weathermen explained that a western disturbance, currently passing over Jammu and Kashmir, has resulted in warm and dry conditions. A western disturbance is an extra tropical storm that originates in the Mediterranean Sea and travels eastwards carrying icy winds and heavy moisture.
According to IMD, temperatures tend to rise whenever western disturbance approaches and passes over the upper reaches of the country. Once the western disturbance crosses past the Himalayas, the weather conditions tend to turn cooler. “There is an infusion of cold air after the passage of a western disturbance and we are expecting temperatures to fall by 2-4 degrees in the coming days. Subsequently, we have to see if the conditions stabilise,” said KJ Ramesh, Director General, IMD.
Dip ahead
Though there is a forecast for a marginal drop in temperature this week across the northwest and in the plains, the Met department said temperatures are not likely to drop below normal.
“The temperatures are above normal due to the passage of a western disturbance. The warm easterly winds are also a cause for the rise in mercury. There has been snowfall and rainfall in parts of the Kashmir Valley and Punjab but that has not helped bring down temperatures in the capital,” said Sathi Devi, scientist, National Weather Forecasting Centre (NWFC).
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