Most parts of the country will be facing a harsh summer season with above normal temperatures this year, while Maharashtra is expected to be one of the states to witness maximum number of heat waves from April to June this year, said Director General of Meteorology, IMD, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, during his address on Saturday regarding “Updated outlook for the hot weather season (April, May & June 2023)”.
Based on IMD’s forecast, it is expected that, most parts of the country are expected to experience above-normal maximum temperatures during the hot weather season this year along with several heat waves in most states of the country which fall in the Central, East and Northwest regions.
Minimum temperature to go above normal
States like Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana are among the Indian states that are likely to witness a significantly higher number of heatwaves from April to June this year.
"A significantly higher number of heatwave days are predicted however, the country is also set to likely receive normal rainfall in April,” said IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mahapatra. Normal to above-normal minimum temperatures are very likely over most parts of the country, barring some areas in northeast and northwest India and isolated pockets of the peninsular region, the IMD said.
Precipitation levels to go up in northwest
The IMD also predicted normal to above normal precipitation over most parts of northwest, central and peninsular regions, while below-normal rainfall is predicted in east and northeast India this year.
Narrowing down further, in regards to Mumbai’s weather between April to June, Colaba IMD official, Sushma Nair said that as the city falls in the Konkan belt, the probability of heatwaves in Mumbai in the coming months is less. “The heatwaves predicted over Maharashtra are most likely for Central and Vidarbha region in the state, meanwhile the moisture in the air over Mumbai will start increasing from April which will increase the hot-humid climate in the summer season,” said the official.
High temperatures were expected in March
High temperature degrees were mostly expected in the month of March for Mumbai, therefore the chances for the temperature to go above 39 degrees Celsius in the coming months is less, added the official.
On Saturday, Santacruz witnessed a minimum temperature of 22.0 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 31.6 degrees Celsius, with 71% relative humidity. Colaba experienced a minimum temperature of 24.1 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 31.4 degrees Celsius, with 73% relative humidity.
