4th March Event, Temperature May Cross 38°C
3 min readMar 23, 2026 10:07 PM IST
Amid soaring temperatures, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday afternoon upgraded its alert to a heatwave warning, Mumbai’s fourth heatwave event in the month, expecting temperatures to exceed 38 degrees Celsius.
While several pockets of the city like Ram Mandir, Vikhroli as well as Thane witnessed temperatures beyond 37 degrees, the weather bureau has placed the region under a yellow alert owing to the possibility of hot and humid weather.
This was the city’s fourth heatwave spell this month, which remained in place until Tuesday morning.
Over the past week, the city experienced below-normal temperatures with daytime temperatures oscillating between 30 and 31 degrees Celsius until March 21. However, on Sunday, Mumbai’s temperature soared to 36.7 degrees Celsius.
The IMD had forecast a spike in temperatures between Monday and Tuesday, placing Mumbai and neighbouring districts under “hot and humid” conditions. However, on Monday, Mumbai woke up to above-normal temperatures, nudging the IMD to upgrade its warning to a heatwave in Mumbai as well as Thane and Raigad districts.
For perspective, a heatwave in coastal areas is sounded when maximum temperatures cross 37 degrees or 4.5 to 6.4 degrees Celsius above normal for consecutive days.
During the heatwave, the city reeled under dry heat as Ram Mandir logged 39 degrees, followed by 37.6 degrees in Vikhroli even as the suburban observatory in Santacruz recorded 36.5 degrees on the mercury scales. Meanwhile, Thane recorded maximum temperatures of 38 degrees during the same period.
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Speaking to The Indian Express, Bikram Singh, director of IMD Mumbai, attributed the spike in temperatures to an anticyclonic system. “Owing to the anticyclonic flow, the region was receiving easterly and north easterly winds which are dry and warm. The easterly winds from landwards prevented the sea breeze from setting in, leading to rise in temperatures,” said Singh, adding that sea breeze plays a crucial role in regulating day time temperatures.
However, the IMD director maintained that the hot spell is likely to be short lived with westerly winds slated to set in starting Tuesday.
The IMD has issued a yellow alert for “hot and humid” conditions after Tuesday morning, when the heatwave is expected to end.
Mumbai has reeled under four heatwave events so far with Monday marking the sixth heatwave day in the month. Previously, the IMD had sounded a heatwave alert for March 4 and 5, followed by alerts for a severe heatwave between March 9 and 10 and another heatwave on March 13. On March 10, the city even broke a five year record with maximum temperatures touching 40 degrees at the Santacruz observatory.
