As per the 24 hours forecast for Mumbai, the maximum temperature will hover around 36-37 degrees Celsius on Friday. (Express photo: Ashish Shankar)

Thursday was the hottest day in Mumbai this month with the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Santacruz observatory recording maximum temperature at 38.4 degrees Celsius, six degrees above normal. The Colaba observatory recorded maximum temperature at 35.4 degrees Celsius, which is 4.5 degrees above normal.

The maximum temperature over other coastal stations has also risen, leading to heat wave conditions in isolated pockets of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, IMD said. However, maximum temperatures are expected to gradually drop and existing heat wave conditions are likely to abate from Friday. As per the 24 hours forecast for Mumbai, the maximum temperature will hover around 36-37 degrees Celsius on Friday.

“Due to prevailing strong easterly winds from the land region, low humidity values and delayed setting of sea breeze, the temperatures were expected to rise,” read the IMD forecast on Thursday. This is the third hottest day in February recorded in Mumbai in the past one decade. The highest maximum temperature so far recorded in February in Mumbai was 39.6 degrees Celsius on 25 February, 1966.

Other coastal cities in the state also recorded above normal temperature and heat wave like conditions. On Thursday, the maximum temperature recorded in Dahanu was 36.4 degrees Celsius. For Ratnagiri and Vengurla it was 38 degrees Celsius and Harnai 36.7 degrees Celsius. This is the second time this month that day temperatures have peaked in coastal cities. On February 16, the temperature in Mumbai had touched 38.1 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the minimum temperature recorded by the Colaba and Santacruz observatories on Thursday was also above normal. The Colaba observatory recorded minimum temperature at 22 degrees Celsius, which was 0.8 degrees above normal, while the Santacruz observatory recorded 20.4 degrees Celsius, 1 degree above normal.