Yellow alert for humid, hot weather in all six Konkan districts; afternoon rain likely in three

Heat is rising day by day in Maharashtra. On Friday, October 23, the Konkan belt is likely to see hot and very humid weather, and people have been asked to be careful. The weather department has issued a yellow alert for all six Konkan districts: Palghar, Thane, Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.

According to the department's forecast, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra are very likely to get rain with thunder and lightning after noon. The rest of the state will see partly cloudy skies, strong sunshine and sweat-inducing humidity.

The change in weather has been attributed to low-pressure areas over the sea. The low-pressure area in the south-west Arabian Sea was active near the Somalia coast on Thursday. Another low-pressure belt lies off the south Tamil Nadu coast and the Comorin area, with cyclonic winds at a height of 5.8 km close to it. The weather department has given clear indications that a new low-pressure area will form in the Bay of Bengal today under the influence of cyclonic winds from the Gulf of Thailand.

According to records up to Thursday, October 22 morning, Dahanu recorded the state's highest maximum temperature at 38.5 degrees Celsius, 4.8 degrees above normal. Mumbai recorded 37.5 degrees, 4 degrees above normal. Ratnagiri recorded 37.3 degrees, Santacruz 35.9 degrees and Panaji 36 degrees.

In central Maharashtra, Solapur recorded a maximum of 37.6 degrees. The mercury in Satara reached 37.5 degrees, 5.9 degrees above normal. Ahilyanagar recorded a maximum of 35.8 and a minimum of 23.3 degrees. The night temperature there is 5.8 degrees above normal, so nights may feel humid too. Pune recorded a maximum of 34.1 and a minimum of 18.7 degrees. The Lohegaon station in Pune recorded 34 degrees, Sangli 34.1, Jalgaon 34.7, Nashik 33.5 and Kolhapur 33.4 degrees. Mahabaleshwar recorded a maximum of 27.1 and a minimum of 18 degrees, the lowest minimum in the state.

In Marathwada, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar recorded a maximum of 35.6 degrees, 3.8 degrees above normal. Parbhani recorded 34.7 and Dharashiv 33.8 degrees. Parbhani's minimum was 18.9 degrees, 0.4 degrees below normal. Beed's minimum was 20.8 degrees, 0.2 degrees above normal.

In Vidarbha, Amravati was the hottest with a maximum of 36 degrees, 3.5 degrees above normal. Akola recorded 35.8, Chandrapur 35.4, Yavatmal 34.8, and Buldhana and Wardha 34.5 each. Nagpur's maximum was 33.8 degrees, while Brahmapuri and Gondia recorded 33.6 each. Gondia's minimum was 18.3 degrees, 2.3 degrees below normal. Washim's minimum was 19 degrees, 0.6 degrees below normal.

On rainfall, most of the state's weather stations recorded none on Thursday. Kolhapur received just 0.3 mm. The Shivajinagar station in Pune also recorded no rain. Pune's total rainfall this season is only 1.4 mm against a normal of 66.9 mm, a deficit of 65.5 mm. With almost no rain in most parts of the state, the weather remains dry.

In Pune, humidity was 61 per cent at 8.30 am on Thursday and fell to 34 per cent by 5.30 pm. The sky in Pune is expected to be mostly clear on Friday, with partial cloud possible in the afternoon and evening. The maximum temperature is likely to be around 34 degrees Celsius and the minimum around 19.