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The Konkan region, including Mumbai, has been experiencing sweltering heat in the recent days, with maximum temperatures touching the 40-degree mark.
A region or locality is considered to be under the influence of heatwave if the maximum temperature reaches or exceeds 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, or 30 degrees Celsius in hilly regions. Over the coastal regions, the threshold for the maximum temperature is 37 degrees.
When the maximum temperature departure ranges between 4.5 and 6 degrees, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declares heatwave. For instance, if the normal temperature of a locality should be 40 degrees, and the actual recorded temperature is 45 degrees, the locality is under heatwave.
Likewise, severe heatwave is declared when the recorded maximum temperature of a locality departure from normal is over 6.4 degrees.
This apart, if the locality records over 45 degrees and 47 degrees on any given day, then the IMD declares heatwave and severe heatwave, respectively.
In India, heatwaves occur from March to June, occasionally in July. The peak heatwave events have been reported in the month of May.
As per the IMD, the most heatwave prone states are Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Vidarbha, and parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and occasionally over Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The ongoing heatwave in Konkan, including Mumbai, is because it is under the direct influence of the prevailing heatwave in the adjacent Saurashtra-Kutch regions of Gujarat.
“The hot and dry winds from northwest India are reaching parts of Konkan. In addition, the slow movement of sea breeze along the Maharashtra coast and the overall clear sky conditions have together resulted in such hot conditions,” said an official from Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai.
On Monday, the Santacruz observatory in Mumbai recorded 39.6 degrees. Ratnagiri recorded the decade’s hottest day with the day temperature touching 40.2 degrees.
But climatologically, this is not unusual as both the minimum and maximum temperatures over Maharashtra gradually begin to rise in March, a month for the seasonal transition, IMD officials said.
In particular, Konkan experiences temperatures above 35 degrees on many days this month.
IMD temperature records reveal that Mumbai (Santacruz) recorded over 40 degrees in March during 2021, 2019, 2018, 2015 and 2013, with the hottest March day (41.7 degrees) recorded on March 28, 1956.
Ratnagiri has recorded over 38 degrees in March on six instances between 2011 and 2020. The highest maximum temperature recorded here was 40.6 degrees in 1982 and 2011.
The IMD has warned that heat wave to severe heat wave conditions will prevail over Kutch – Saurashtra till March 16.
As the hot and dry winds continue to blow from these areas of Gujarat over Konkan, especially north Konkan districts including Mumbai, the maximum temperatures will remain around 38 degrees Celsius at least for the next two days.
The IMD has issued an ‘orange’ alert, warning that severe heat wave is likely to prevail over Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts till Tuesday, and a ‘yellow’ alert over these coastal districts on Wednesday.
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