Warm And Humid Days Ahead For Mumbai

The financial capital, Mumbai, is likely to come in for some harsh weather conditions. Sultry weather, rise of mercury, delayed onset of sea breeze and prolonged exposure to land wind will be the multiple factors leading to muggy conditions. The discomfort may last for the remaining days of February. The upcoming month of March, as such, is generally not very kind for soothing weather conditions. Warmer, sweltering and sticky days become a common feature for Mumbaikars during pre-monsoon from March to May.

Meteorologically, the disarray of synoptic features will lead to stifling weather conditions during the forenoon and afternoon hours.  Marginally better weather conditions can be expected during the night and early morning hours. The city has been recording higher mercury levels for the last about 6-7 days. The airport observatory has breached the 36°C mark frequently in the last week. Earlier, the city had recorded a maximum temperature of 36.7°C on 14th Feb, which was the highest in the last about 2 months. Before that, the coastal town had clocked 37.3°C on 04 Dec 2024. The day temperature crossed 36°C yesterday as well. Santacruz registered a high of 36.3°C, about 4.5°C higher than the normal.

Multiple factors have been responsible for this unpleasant change. There is an anticyclone in the lower levels over the northern and eastern parts of the Arabian Sea. The seasonal anticyclone over Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh is getting pushed far to the east. A north-south trough in the lower levels across the Coastal Karnataka-Konkan-Goa region is altering the wind pattern. Under the influence of these parameters, the winds below the friction level are being dominated by the land. Easterly and southeasterly winds are exposing the coastline of Konkan to hotter-than-normal winds.

The rise in the surface temperature gets arrested immediately after the onset of sea breeze. Quite often, the sea breeze onset takes place anytime around 12p.m. or so. A delay of even an hour raises the bar by 2°-3°C. The prolonged stay of hot northeasterly winds in the afternoon hours has become a semi-permanent feature over the last few days. Today also, the temperature is likely to reach or cross the 36°C mark. High humidity and soaring temperatures will keep this trend for the city over the next one week.