Winter technically on, but parts of Maharashtra already experience 1st heat wave of year

PUNE: Unusual for Feb, parts of Maharashtra are experiencing their first heat wave of the year, despite winter technically still being in season. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday declared heat wave over parts of the north Maharashtra coast including Mumbai.
IMD has issued a warning about heat wave conditions affecting isolated pockets of Konkan and Goa, and coastal Karnataka. Additionally, hot and humid weather is expected to prevail over Konkan and Goa on Friday and coastal Karnataka on March 1.
Data for Feb 26 showed Santacruz recorded the highest maximum temperature in the Konkan-Goa region at 38.5°C, 6°C above normal while Solapur registered 36.9°C. Several other locations, including Ratnagiri (37.2°C), Panjim (37.6°C) and Dahanu (38.2°C), also reported significantly high temperatures.
In Pune too, hot and humid conditions continue with the difference between maximum and minimum temperatures being high. Pune has been recording a maximum temp of around 35°C and minimum of 15°C.
On Thursday, Shivajinagar recorded a day temperature of 35.2°C, around 1.4°C above normal while the minimum temperature was 16°C, nearly 3°C above normal.
Temperatures across the state continued to soar on Thursday, with Santacruz in Mumbai recording the highest at 38.4°C. It has been several days of extreme heat in the coastal region, IMD data showed.
The unusual Feb heat prompted IMD to declare a heat wave in parts of Mumbai, Dahanu and parts of north Konkan on Thursday. Akola in Vidarbha region also recorded a high of 38.0°C, while Dahanu registered 37.2°C.
IMD Pune scientist S D Sanap said, "The criterion for declaring a heat wave over a coastal location is when the day temperature reaches 37°C or above with a departure of 4.5°C or more from normal. If these conditions persist for two consecutive days, we officially declare a heat wave on the third day, which is exactly what happened in Mumbai. Santacruz recorded 38.5°C on Wednesday and 38.4°C on Thursday, making it even the warmest location in the state, surpassing temperatures in interior regions. Based on these readings, we have declared a heat wave in Mumbai, Dahanu and parts of north Konkan."
The north Konkan heat wave is the first one this year, arriving even before summer's official onset. Notably, while coastal areas sizzled, Ahmednagar recorded the state's lowest minimum temperature at 14.3°C.
Sanap said similar temperature spikes occurred in 2022 across central and northwest India during the same period. He added, "From Friday, the situation is likely to improve in Konkan, with day temperature falling below 37°C."
Sanap further said that in the coming days, both day and night temperatures may drop by 1 to 2°C as northwesterly wind flow is expected. However, he cautioned that "the drop may not be too significant."
Independent weather forecaster Abhijit Modak said Feb typically marks the transition from winter to summer, with temperatures often exceeding 35°C. "However, this year stands out due to a significant departure from the norm. We have seen persistently above-normal temperatures since Jan, a trend that has continued through Feb. This anomaly is largely attributed to the prolonged absence of strong western disturbances, which have failed to impact the region. Consequently, anticyclonic conditions established themselves earlier than usual. Normally, these western disturbances would disrupt anticyclones by creating upper-level troughs, but that has not occurred this year, resulting in early warmth."
Modak added, "Climatologically, temperatures in the 38-39°C range during late Feb are not uncommon for Mumbai, as this period represents the shift towards summer. However, the key difference this year is the noticeably higher frequency of days with temperatures surpassing 35°C throughout the entire month. This increased frequency is directly linked to the persistent lack of strong western disturbances, which, as previously mentioned, have been unable to influence Maharashtra's weather patterns since Jan."