Pune: According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), day temperature in the city was reported to be three to four degrees above the normal temperature in the past few days.
Since 2013, this is the third year, where the highest temperature above the predicted average was reported in December in Pune.
According to the IMD, the highest maximum temperature in the city reported in December was 34 degrees Celsius on December 24, 2016 and 33.8 degrees Celsius on December 13, 2015.
This year, the highest maximum temperature so far has been 32.8 degrees Celsius on December 9.
The high day temperature reported on Sunday was four degrees above the normal predicted day temperature hinting toward a warmer December. Similarly, on Monday, Pune reported 30.4 degrees Celsius as the day temperature.
The day temperature was above normal by three degrees this week. On Saturday, it was 32.4 degrees Celsius, which was 3.6 degrees more than the predicted normal temperature.
Speaking to Sakal Times, AK Srivastava, Head of the Climate Monitoring and Analysis Group at the Indian Meteorological Department, (IMD) Pune, said Maharashtra gets colder because of northern cooler waves.
“However, this year in the southern part of the Bay of Bengal, we are witnessing a lot of weather formations like low-pressure areas, because of which warmers easterlies are circulating. These easterlies obstruct the colder waves from the north, which overall increases the day and night temperatures,” said Srivastava.
He said the north also has not had any significant snowfall for more intense colder winds to circulate. Hence, the warmer weather.
When asked whether this phenomenon is related to climate change, Srivastava said climate change can be observed over the years.
“This year’s data alone is not sufficient to conclude if this is due to climate change. However, the overall monthly temperature from November to February is increasing as compared to the summer months. This trend has been seen throughout,” said Srivastava.
