Gujarat-Hottest Region Of Country: Mercury Shoots
Key Takeaways:
- Several Gujarat cities crossed 40°C, with Rajkot and Surendranagar recording the country’s highest temperature at 41.6°C.
- Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Deesa, Amreli, and Baroda also exceeded the 40°C mark.
- A shift in wind pattern, replacing moist Arabian Sea winds with hot, dry winds from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, triggered the heat spike.
- No relief expected till the weekend, with unusually high temperatures for the first half of March.
Pre-monsoon heat is catching up with many parts of the country. Pockets in eastern, central, and southern parts are far exceeding normal temperatures. Akola, Jalgaon, and Sholapur, all in Maharashtra, have breached the 40°C mark early in the season. However, Gujarat’s heat is widespread across the state. Saurashtra, North and Central Gujarat, and South Coastal Gujarat have all crossed the 40°C mark in the early days of March.
The state capital and the twin city of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar have both crossed 40°C. The highest temperature in the country yesterday was recorded by Rajkot and Surendranagar, both at 41.6°C, nearly 8°C above normal. Even Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Deesa, Amreli, Baroda, and Surat exceeded the 40°C mark. These temperatures are 5°–7°C above normal at many places. In fact, it amounts to severe heat wave conditions in some pockets of the state. The coastal station Surat is terribly hot and sultry, with the mercury rising to 40.6°C, about 6.1°C above normal.
A change in the wind pattern over the state has resulted in a sharp rise in temperatures. The passage of western disturbances across the northern mountains has displaced the seasonal anticyclone. The moist winds from the Arabian Sea have been halted and replaced by dry and hot winds from South Rajasthan and West Madhya Pradesh. The absence of sea breeze in the coastal parts has triggered the spike in temperatures. The port city of Kandla recorded a high of 41.4°C, over 9°C above normal.
This pattern is likely to continue till this weekend. No respite is expected until then. Normally, such high temperatures are witnessed during the last week of March, and that too over the interiors of the state. Exceptionally high temperatures in the first ten days of March are nothing short of a historic record for the state.
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