Mumbai’s maximum temperature on Monday, September 9, rose to 35 degrees Celsius, which is 3 degrees above normal.
As the withdrawal of the monsoon begin from October 6, the heat has intensified in the city. This has led to increasing power consumption.
Moreover, the forecast says that the weather is not going to be comfortable for the next six to seven days.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s Santacruz observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 35.9 degrees Celsius with 86% humidity at 8.30am. The maximum temperature recorded in Colaba was 33 degrees Celsius, with the humidity at 88%. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature was hovering around 25 degrees respectively.
The IMD has attributed these weather conditions to the easterly winds are bringing dry air into the city. Besides, it has come to light that the maximum temperature for the next few days will continue to remain in the range of 34 to 36 degrees Celsius. The average temperature in October is between 33 to 34 degrees Celsius.
However, the data also reveals that while this is not the highest recorded October temperature, high temperatures are usually recorded in the end of the month.
Between 2011 and 2020, the highest maximum October temperature was recorded at 38.6 degrees in 2015 on October 17, whereas the second highest recorded temperature (38 degrees) was registered in 2018 on October 28.
Weather experts and meteorologists have maintained that the ‘October heat’ has not yet set in.
It is pertinent to note that this have spurted the demand for electricity in the first week of October itself, which has surpassed 3550 megawatts (Mw) in Mumbai, the highest since summer ended.
The state, too, has seen power demand surge to over 27300Mw, possibly owing to the increased use of air containers.
As per reports, the electricity demand hovered around 2900Mw over the last week of September. Last week, it touched 3200Mw, though the demand in the rest of the state was 23000Mw.
Now there is a sudden increase in demand, and this afternoon it crossed 3500Mw in Mumbai, which is the highest in the last three months. During the Ganpati festival, there were rains in parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, that reduced electricity demand to around 20000Mw and 2500-2700Mw respectively. But since then, the demand has been surging, said a power expert.
This month could see a worse situation owing to the heat until winter begins. Earlier this summer, the electricity demand in Mumbai had surpassed a record 4000Mw.
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