After sweltering on its hottest day in five years, maximum temperatures dip six degrees in a single day to 34.2 degrees

Records showed that at 40 degrees, Tuesday was Mumbai’s warmest March day since 2021 when maximum temperatures touched 40.9 degrees on March 28.

Meteorologists had attributed the heatwave to a prevalent anticyclone system which led to an influx of dry, warmer easterly winds.

However, by Tuesday evening, the anticyclone system weakened and moved towards the North Arabian Sea in what ushered in westerly winds. “During the course of the heatwave, the anticyclone system was over Gujarat and Rajasthan which brought in dry easterly winds. But by Tuesday evening, the anti-cyclone system moved towards the North Arabian Sea which is its typical position during the summer season, that brought in the westerlies and the sea breeze set in early. This led to a significant drop in temperatures. However, the humidity levels also spiked, which left citizens sweating through the day,” said Athreya Shetty, an independent weather observer.

According to the weather bureau, the city is likely to experience normal temperatures in the coming days with the maximum temperatures likely to hover around 34 degrees for the next 48 hours while minimum temperatures are forecast around 23 degrees. “Gradual fall in maximum temperature by 2-3 degrees Celsius over Konkan during next 4-5 days,” said the IMD in its forecast for the region including Mumbai on Wednesday.

While orange severe heat waves are an anomaly, the city is prone to experiencing heatwaves in the month of March. As per the IMD criteria, a yellow heatwave is sounded when maximum temperatures remain 4.5 to 6.4 degrees above the normal while a severe heatwave is declared when maximum temperatures log a departure of 6.5 degrees or more above the normal. The city’s hottest temperature in March was 41.7 degrees in the year 1953.