The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued a heatwave warning for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, and the surrounding Konkan coast, central Maharashtra, and Vidarbha. This is the fourth heatwave alert for the season for Mumbai and other areas on the Konkan coast, even as, Akola was ranked eighth in the world and fourth in India on Saturday at 45.6°C. On Friday, the IMD*s Santacruz observatory recorded 36.9 degrees, which was a three-degree jump since Thursday, while the Colaba observatory recorded 34.2 degrees.
"An anti-cyclone circulation has formed which is causing temperatures to go up. The formation is expected to move northward within the next two days, following which the temperature in Mumbai may come down a bit. Alongside the Konkan region, places in interior parts of Maharashtra are continuously recording higher temperatures, with districts like Jalgaon, Dhule, and Nandurbar recording above 40 degrees consistently now," said Sushma Nair, a scientist with IMD*s regional meteorological centre at Colaba.