Mumbai sizzles highest in the country at 39.4 degrees Celcius

Mumbai sizzled at 39.4 degrees Celcius on Sunday which was the highest maximum temperature recorded by the city this year and it was also the highest temperature recorded in the entire country on Sunday. This comes after the unlikely early dawn of the summer season which Mumbai began witnessing from mid-Feburary this year.

"Mumbai is currently facing major heat conditions, as the Santacruz observatory observed a maximum temperature of 39.4 degrees Celcius which is the highest temperature in the country on Sunday according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) observatories all over the country.," said IMD official KS Hosalikar.

"The city has been recording +6 degrees above the expected normal temperature of the season," added the official.

According to the IMD, climate models are predicting the onset of El Nino this summer - three years after La Lina - this could result in a warmer summer season this year along with a poor monsoon season. El Nino refers to a climate pattern of unusual warming of the waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, and La Nina refers to the opposite, a cooling of those waters.

A report by the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO) which comes under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), said that, the La Niña conditions are prevailing over the equatorial Pacific region, but the strength of the La Niña is continuing to weaken for the past few months. The latest forecast indicates that the El Niño conditions are expected to start from the next season and is likely to develop during the second half of the southwest monsoon season. This indicates the probability of a warmer summer season this year along with less rainfall and drought-like conditions.

On Sunday, Santacruz witnessed a minimum temperature of 24.1 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 39.4 degrees Celsius, with 68% relative humidity. Colaba experienced a minimum temperature of 24.8 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 35.8 degrees Celsius, with 79% relative humidity.