Even as Mumbaikars experienced cold weather in the first two weeks of March, prolonging the arrival of the summer, the maximum temperature spiked over the weekend, from 30 degrees Celsius on Friday to 37 degrees on Sunday.
The city saw unusually cold days and even colder nights with daytime temperatures staying under 30 degrees and night time temperatures under 20 degrees till March 12. On Friday, the maximum temperature reached 30.1 degrees, while it was 34.3 degrees on Saturday. Sunday saw another rise to 37 degrees, four degrees above normal. But the minimum temperature on Saturday night was still at 17.4 degrees, four degrees below normal.
The India Meteorological Department expects the maximum temperature in Mumbai to be in the same range for the next 48 hours. Interior Konkan and north central Maharashtra can see mercury higher than 38 degrees.
The hottest March day in the last decade has been between 38 and 41 degrees with Mumbai’s all-time record being 41.7 degrees on March 28, 1956. Even minimum temperatures can fall up to 12 degrees.