City sees hottest April day in 8 yrs after pre-monsoon drizzle

Prayag Arora-Desai

MUMBAI: Even as the city woke up to an overcast sky with first pre-monsoon drizzle being reported in isolated places, Thursday turned out to be the hottest April day in eight years. India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Santacruz monitoring station – representative for Mumbai – put the maximum daytime temperature at 38.9 degrees Celsius. The city had on April 22, 2014, recorded a daytime temperature of 39 degrees Celsius.

Thursday is also significantly hotter than the highest temperature recorded in April last year - 35.8 degrees Celsius on April 7. The maximum temperature at Santacruz was 5.6 degrees above normal, while it was 4.4 degrees above normal at 37.2 degrees Celsius at Colaba. The hottest April day recorded in Mumbai was on April 14, 1952, when the mercury soared to 42.2 degrees Celsius.

An official from IMD’s regional forecasting centre attributed the drizzle to an approaching western disturbance which scuttled wind patterns over the north Konkan and allowed warm, dry air from north India to sweep over the region. “A moisture bearing, low-level wind discontinuity interacted with this warm air, which facilitated light rain in the early morning.”

By afternoon, the official said, the western disturbance had passed. “Clear skies and northerly winds reduced humidity levels and there was a delayed onset of sea breeze, causing the temperature to shoot up.”

The intensity of pre-monsoon showers may increase with another spell or two towards the end of May, leading to a strong start to the monsoon season. In Mumbai, skies are expected to remain overcast or partly cloudy for at least another two days, which will trap both heat and humidity. The minimum temperature of 25.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday is expected to touch 27 degrees Celsius on Friday. The maximum temperature is expected to remain around 38 degrees Celsius.

Vidarbha region is reeling under an intense heatwave with most districts seeing a rise in mercury levels. Chandrapur and Bramhapuri, with 45.4 and 44.0 degrees Celsius respectively, were the top two hottest cities in the country on Thursday. The two also topped the chart of hottest cities in the world on Wednesday when the maximum temperature crossed 45 degrees Celsius. Pre-monsoon thundershowers are likely in other parts of the state till April 23, an official forecast said.

(With inputs from Pradeep Maitra

in Nagpur)

SATISH BATE/HT PHOTO A mother covers the head of her child from the scorching heat at Dadar on Thursday.