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Informist, Friday, Mar. 6, 2026

 

MUMBAI – Mumbai recorded a surge in both maximum and minimum temperatures in the past 24 hours, which signals the onset of hot weather in the city earlier than usual, according to the India Meteorological Department and private weather forecasting agency Skymet. Heatwave conditions, along with humid weather, are expected to persist Friday, the government weather department said. It has issued a yellow alert -– when the maximum temperature is 4.5 degrees Celsius to 6.4 degrees Celsius above normal. 

 

On Thursday, maximum temperatures in the city rose to 38.7 degrees Celsius, which is 5.7 degrees Celsius above normal, data from the weather department showed. Heatwave conditions for coastal cities arise on breaching the 37 degrees Celsius mark. When the day temperature reaches or exceeds 37 degrees Celsius and the departure from normal becomes 4.5 degrees Celsius or more, a heat wave is announced for coastal locations. For the plains, the threshold value remains at 40 degrees Celsius.

 

As of 0830 IST Friday, the maximum temperature recorded at the Santacruz weather station was 38.9 degrees Celsius, which is 5.9 degrees Celsius above normal, data from the weather department showed. The Colaba weather station recorded a maximum temperature of 36.2 degrees Celsius, which is 5 degrees above normal.

 

Typically, the city does not record such high temperatures until the last few days of March, Skymet said. Though temperature in Mumbai have breached the 40 degrees Celsius mark a few times during March, this year marks one of the earliest breaches of the 38 degrees Celsius mark, the private weather agency said. Mumbai has repeatedly recorded above-normal maximum temperatures in the past few days -- such early-season heat is unusual, it said.

 

"Such conditions are not very common and rather rare during the month of March. Santacruz has an all-time March record high of 41.7 degrees Celsius on 28th March, 1956," Skymet said.

 

The seasonal anticyclone has weakened over parts of Rajasthan and adjoining West Madhya Pradesh, Skymet said. Currently, the wind pattern is predominantly from the land for parts of north central Maharashtra and the Konkan coast, it said. Such conditions delay the onset of the sea breeze and trigger a rise in temperatures over Mumbai. On Thursday, the onset of the sea breeze was delayed beyond 1330 IST. If the onset of the sea breeze is delayed beyond 1200 IST, temperatures usually rise steeply, breaching the 37 degrees Celsius mark or beyond rapidly, the weather agency said. Under such conditions, the mercury can rise at the rate of over 3 degrees Celsius per hour, it said.

 

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's public health department decided to issue a heat advisory asking people to refrain from walking out on hot days when the temperature breaches 37 degrees Celsius, The Times of India reported Friday.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Shreya Shetty

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

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