Coastal K’taka records season’s 1st heatwave

KARWAR, HONAVAR STATIONS IN UTTARA KANNADA RECORDED 40.2°C (PLUS 6.8) AND 39.4°C (PLUS 6.7), RESPECTIVELY

Two coastal districts of Karnataka, Uttara and Dakshin Kannada, surprisingly recorded the season’s first heatwave, from Friday to Monday, due to an anticyclone over the Arabian Sea in an area where cool sea breezes moderate temperatures even in peak summer.

Day temperatures shot up to around 40°C in the region on Saturday even as large parts of the country recorded near normal temperatures. Two stations in Uttara Kannada district, Karwar and Honavar, recorded 40.2 °C (plus 6.8) and 39.4°C (plus 6.7), respectively.

On Sunday, Goa recorded a maximum temperature of 37.1°C, 5 above normal; Mumbai 38.1 °C, 5 above normal; Honavar 37.3°C, 5°C above normal; and Kannur 37.6°C , 4 above normal. Mumbai recorded a minimum temperature of 25.4°C, also 5°C above normal. Anticyclonic conditions lead to subsidence of air and warming over the west coast. Heatwaves are rare over southern coastal regions, M Mohapatra, director general, IMD said. “These areas do not fall in the core heat wave zone. This time coastal Karnataka recorded high temperatures but fortunately it was a marginal heatwave, and temperatures have started falling again. In March during some years, heatwaves have been recorded over coastal Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, but not these regions.” “It is unusual for areas along the west coast to record heatwaves, especially in March,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president, climate change and meteorology at Skymet Weather. “On the east coast, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh record heatwaves, but only during late April and May.” The unusual heatwave on the west coast was because the sea breeze was affected and winds were blowing from the interior parts of the country, Palawat explained.

A heatwave is declared when the maximum temp is over 40 °C over the plains, over 37°C over coastal areas and over 30°C over hilly regions.