Cloudy nights and clear day skies make winter warmer this year

PUNE: This winter is turning out to be unusually warm in the city. The day temperature on Sunday had shot up to 32.8°C — this season’s highest and also one of the highest day temperatures in the past 10 years.

On Sunday afternoon, Lohegaon was among the five stations that recorded the highest maximum temperature in Maharashtra — 33°C. The temperature in the city was almost 4°C above normal. On December 5, the city’s day temperature in Shivajinagar had shot up to 31.1° C, which was 1.8°C above normal. Even the night temperature had risen to 16.9°C, a staggering 4.5°C above normal. By December 9, the day temperature had touched 32.8°C, while the minimum too remained higher than normal by 3.6°C at 15°C.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecasted chances of rain in parts of Maharashtra till December 10. The cloud cover at night caused a spike in minimum temperatures. “The skies during the daytime have been fairly clear. This caused the maximum temperatures to rise as well. Had the days begun with continuous cloudy skies, the day temperatures would have dropped. But the skies only had intermittent clouding, which did not prevent the solar radiation from directly hitting the earth’s surface,” an IMD weather official explained.

Mahesh Palawat, the chief meteorologist at the Skymet Weather Services, said the minimum temperatures have been above normal in parts of Marathwada, Madhya Maharashtra and Vidarbha due to clouding, intermittent rains and the influence of warm and moist south-easterlies. “Meanwhile, there is the influence of cold northerly winds in North Konkan and North Madhya Maharashtra, because of which the night temperatures are low there. Places such as Pune, which are witnessing clear skies during the day, are having above normal day temperatures. The maximum temperatures in Vidharbha are on the lower side due to daytime clouds,” he added.