Cold Wave Conditions Over Maharashtra: Respite On Weekend Likely
Key Takeaways
- Cold wave conditions have expanded from Madhya Maharashtra into Vidarbha and Marathwada, with multiple cities recording single-digit temperatures.
- Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Jeur, and several Vidarbha districts reported their lowest minimums of the season.
- A strong anticyclonic circulation over Rajasthan–Madhya Pradesh is driving the cold winds into Maharashtra.
- From December 13 onward, shifting wind patterns under a western disturbance will ease cold wave conditions and warm southeasterlies may raise temperatures above normal.
Cold wave conditions, earlier confined mostly to Madhya Maharashtra, have widened further to cover many places of Vidarbha and some places of Marathwada too. Outside the Konkan region, the remaining three landlocked sub-divisions are being swept by chilly winds, triggering cold wave conditions for the second consecutive day. Pune and Nashik, already reeling under a cold wave, had another outburst of chill, plummeting the mercury levels to the season’s lowest.
Pune and Nashik have recorded single-digit minimums of 8.1°C at Pashan and Ozar observatories today morning. These are the lowest temperatures of this season and are also 4°–5°C below normal. The neighbouring city of Ahmednagar also joined the pool, with the minimum dropping to 7.5°C, about 5°C below average. Jeur in Solapur district of Madhya Maharashtra was the lowest in the region, with the minimum plunging to 6°C for the first time this season.
The winter cold has spread to cover many cities of Vidarbha. Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra by virtue of holding winter legislative sessions, nosedived to 8°C, about 5°C below normal. Other neighbouring districts also joined the spree with single-digit temperatures. The prominent locations being: Gondia 8.4°C (-4.7°C), Yavatmal 8.8°C (-5.7°C), Wardha 9.5°C (-5.4°C), and Washim about 4.3°C below average. Isolated places like Bir in Marathwada also observed a single-digit temperature of 9°C today morning.
The anticyclonic flow of winds is strong and steady over parts of central Rajasthan and adjoining Madhya Pradesh. The spillover effect is intruding into many parts of Maharashtra. This feature will maintain its position until 12th Dec 2025. Thereafter, under the influence of a western disturbance approaching the Western Himalayas, the anticyclone will shift to southeast Rajasthan and west Madhya Pradesh between 13th and 15th Dec 2025. The anticyclone will then act as a barrier to arrest the free flow of wintry winds. It will shift further eastward over parts of south Madhya Pradesh and north Maharashtra between 16th and 19th Dec 2025. The wind stream will veer to turn relatively warm southeasterly and easterly. The cold wave conditions will abate and the mercury may rise above normal across the state.
