Highway Mirage effect seen near Vikroli signal on Eastern Express Highway. File
| Photo Credit: Aadesh Choudhari
For the second time in the current month, Mumbai recorded the highest maximum temperature in the country at 39.4°Celsius on March 12, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, attributing the rise in mercury to absent or delayed sea breeze.
The IMD had warned of a heat wave for March 12 and March 13.
The Santacruz observatory and the Colaba observatory recorded a temperature of 39.4°Celsius and 35.8°Celsius, respectively, on March 12.
“This is for the second time this month that Mumbai has recorded the highest maximum temperature in the country. On March 6, Santacruz (observatory) recorded 39.1°Celsius, also the highest in the country. On Sunday, it recorded 39.4°Celsius,” said IMD scientist Rajendra Jenamani.
He said the temperature recorded in the coastal Konkan region, which encompasses Mumbai, was 4-6°Celsius above normal on March 12.
This was also observed between March 5-7 when the temperature was 5-7° above normal, Mr. Jenamani added.
“Normally, Konkan witnesses low temperatures during this time because of the sea breeze at around 11.30 am to 1 pm. However, in the last seven-ten days the sea breeze is absent or delayed because of the dominant easterly winds which have resulted in high temperatures,” he said, adding that the temperature should reach highest between Rajasthan and Gujarat but it is controlled due to thunderstorm cloud and favourable wind.
