Mumbai: Mumbaikars flock to nearby hill stations to escape the summer heat, but unfortunately this year even the hillocks are no longer a cooler refuge. Temperatures at hill stations like Lonavala, Khandala, Mahabaleshwar and Matheran make for dismal reading.
Lonavala temperature is touching 30 to 33 degrees Celsius, Khandala 38 to 40, Mahabaleshwar 25 to 28 and Matheran 30 to 32; Panchgani stood out at 25 to 29 degrees Celsius. No wonder, visitors to these cooler climes have been sorely disappointed. Vinita Chandrani, a youth who visited Mahabaleshwar, said, “I went to Mahabaleshwar hoping for a getaway from the scorching heat of Mumbai. But it was anything but a hill station; the heat wave deterred us from walking on streets at noon and we had to wait for the sun to go down.”
Coastal getaways are not providing any relief either. Sandesh Pandit, a businessman who recently visited Alibaug, said, “Our entire family wanted to try out the water sports at Alibaug but the heat was just too much on the beach. Alibaug generally has pleasant weather which is why we visited it in the first place, but the heat near the water was unbearable.” Several other districts in Marathwada like Parbhani have notched up 45 degrees Celsius; Aurangabad, Nanded and Osmanabad recorded 42 degrees Celsius and Chandrapur became the hottest spot with 48 degrees, according to India Meteorological Department data.