Watch out, it’s getting very hot!

The India Meteorological Departmentrsquos Regional Meteorological Centre Mumbai has issued a heatwave warning for Konkan and other parts of Maharashtra for the next 48 hours The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 37 to 38 degrees Celsius over many parts of Gujarat Maharashtra and Goa coasts on Tuesday and Wednesday the IMD has predictedThe city saw its hottest day of the yearseason on Saturday with a maximum daytime temperature that was 379 degrees Celsius Though the maximum temperature on Sunday and Monday has dropped significantly IMD officials and weather enthusiasts have advised citizens to drink plenty of water and avoid going outside during peak afternoon hoursA boy tries to get relief from the scorching heat at the Gateway of India Colaba File PicPradeep DhivarCautioning citizens the head of IMD Pune K S Hosalikar tweeted on Monday ldquoHeatwave alerts by IMDrsquos RMC Mumbai for parts of Maharashtra and Konkan area for 48 hours Though Yellow Alerts watch out still take care please Avoid going outside between 11 am 2 pm if possible A water bottle is necessaryrdquoAlso Read Mumbai weather update With temperatures above 37 degrees C IMD issues heatwave alert for next two daysUnusual rise in temperaturesThe rising trend of temperatures in the month of February is unusual Many parts of the country are witnessing significantly aboveaverage day and night temperatures Elaborating on the phenomenon experts from Skymet Weather a private weather forecasting agency explained on their blog ldquoParts of the Western Himalayas East Rajasthan Saurashtra and Kutch Konkan and Goa and at one or two places over Uttarakhand and Gujarat region are significantly above average The two weather factors can be demarcated for this unusual rise in temperatures One of which can be successive Western disturbances approaching the Western Himalayas but incapable of giving any significant rain or snow Another fresh Western Disturbance may come to the hills of the Western Himalayas around February 26 Moreover the gap between these Western disturbances is significantly less Therefore the cold winds from the north are not set up which would have arrested the rise in temperaturesrdquoTheir statement further reads ldquoThe second one is an anticyclone which was over the set Northeast Arabian Sea Now it has moved over southwest Rajasthan Due to this anticyclone hot and dry winds from Baluchistan South Sind and Thar Desert are reaching northwest India as well as over Gujarat Maharashtra and Karnataka The absence of significant weather activity bright sunshine and dry and hot winds are responsible for this unusual temperature spikerdquoOn Sunday the maximum temperature recorded by IMDrsquos Santacruz observatory was 365 degrees Celsius which was six degrees above normal In comparison the Colaba observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 342 degrees Celsius four degrees Celsius above normal The maximum temperature recorded at the Santacruz observatory on Monday was 331 degrees Celsius while the Colaba observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 318 degrees CelsiusWill get betterWhile IMDrsquos forecast for the next 48 hours predicted that heat wave conditions were likely to prevail at isolated places Vagaries of the Weather a popular private weather forecasting blog has hinted that the last week of February will be more bearableldquoThe rising temperature of Mumbai to date is 37 to 38 degrees Celsius six degrees Celsius above normal As the East winds relent Mumbai will see the day temperatures in ldquosanerdquo regions next week The last week of this month will be more bearable I feel Daytime or maximum temperature will drop to around 34 35 degrees Celsius next week bringing relief from the sharp scorching sun Night time will be pleasant with minimum temperature hovering around 19 to 20 degrees Celsiusrdquo said Rajesh Kapadia a climatologist from Vagaries of the WeatherTweet talkK S Hosaliker Hosaliker_KS lsquoHeatwave alerts by IMDrsquos RMC Mumbai for parts of Maharashtra and Konkan area for 48 hours Though Yellow Alerts watch out still take care please Avoid going outside between 11 am 2 pm if possible A water bottle is necessaryrsquo37degC 38degCWhat the temperature is likely to be