October records third-highest temperature in a decade, soaring to 37.4 Degrees Celsius in Mumbai

Saturday witnessed Mumbai experiencing its highest daytime temperature of the season at 37.4 degrees, ranking as the third-highest October daytime temperature in the past decade. In 2018, the highest October temperature reached 38 degrees on October 29, while in 2015, daytime temperatures reached a scorching 38.6 degrees on October 17. Weather officials attributed this temperature rise to a delayed sea breeze and the influence of Cyclone Tej, which formed in the Arabian Sea, further contributing to the delay in the onset of the sea breeze.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department's (IMD) five-day forecast, dry weather conditions are expected to persist throughout the coming week. On Saturday, the IMD Santacruz observatory registered maximum temperatures that were 3.4 degrees higher than the normal, while the IMD Colaba observatory recorded maximum temperatures of 35 degrees, which exceeded the normal by 1.5 degrees. Humidity levels were measured at 58% for the IMD Colaba observatory and 72% for the IMD Santacruz observatory.

According to a report of Times of India, Abhijit Modak, an independent forecaster managing the Konkan weather blog, attributed the rise in day-time temperatures due to persistent anti-cyclone over north west Gujarat and further delayed onset of the sea breeze due to prevailing Arabian sea system. Typically, the sea breeze is expected to set in by 1pm, but there was a delay on Saturday, resulting in the rise of temperature, Modak said also highlighting the role of the prevailing cyclone Tej  in drawing away the moisture due to prolonged land breeze from east till around 3pm.