Maximum temperatures climbed further on Tuesday, with Mumbai recording 36.3 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal.
After an unusually cold week, the city’s temperatures are rising steadily. On Sunday, minimum temperatures stayed at 12.4 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature had hit 32.3 degrees Celsius, only a degree warmer than normal.
On Friday, a record was set for the lowest maximum temperature for a February day in a decade at 24.2 degrees Celsius.
On Monday, the maximum temperature peaked at 35.1 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature was 15.4 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal.
The trend continued on Tuesday, with mercury touching 36.3 degrees Celsius at the Santacruz observatory of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The minimum temperature was normal at 17.8 degrees Celsius. The all-time record for the highest maximum February temperature was set on February 25, 1966, at 39.6 degrees Celsius.
Reason for the spike
The IMD has cited “late sea breeze setting due to easterly winds” as the reason behind the spike in mercury.
Weathermen have forecast daytime temperatures for the next four days to be in the 33 to 35 degrees Celsius range, while the minimum temperatures are likely be in the 16 to 18 degrees Celsius range.
