3 minutes of readingBombayUpdated: Feb 10, 2026 03:24 pm IST
Despite the current winter season, the city has been sweltering under unusually high temperatures this month, with maximum temperatures consistently remaining 3 to 4 degrees above normal over the past week.
While maximum temperatures dipped marginally to 32.7 degrees on Monday afternoon, the city recorded highs of 34.5 degrees on Sunday, 3.6 degrees above normal.
Before this, BombayThe Santacruz observatory recorded more than 35 degrees on the mercury scale for three consecutive days between February 5 and 7, marking a deviation of more than four degrees above the normal range for the season.
What has caused the sharp increase in temperatures?
Meteorologists have attributed the recent rise in temperatures to the influx of easterly winds, or warm winds blowing from land rather than from the sea.
“In the last few days, we have had easterly winds at lower levels, indicating that warm winds are blowing from the land. This has led to a rise in temperatures last week,” said Sushma Nair, scientist at IMD Mumbai.
Mumbai is usually moderated by colder winds from the Arabian Sea. However, land warms faster than water, and winds from inland tend to transport warmer, drier air, raising daytime temperatures.
Nair noted that this season has also seen fewer western disturbances, weather systems that typically bring cloudiness, rain or snowfall in northern India and help lower temperatures in western India. “This season, we have seen fewer western disturbances causing westerly winds that bring down maximum temperatures,” he said.
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“Although we are currently experiencing easterly winds, this season is typically associated with the westerly disturbance system… These westerly disturbances cause an influx of westerly winds blowing from the western direction of the seas. At present, such westerly disturbance systems are absent,” he explained.
However, experts and past records suggest that Mumbai is prone to experiencing above-normal temperatures during February.
Warmer February trends over the years: What the records show
According to the IMD, the winter season in India spans two months: January and February. Although February is officially classified as a winter month, Mumbai is prone to recording above-normal maximum temperatures during the month.
In the year 2025, for example, the Met Office declared a heat wave in the month of February as the city reeled under mercury levels of more than 38 degrees for almost three consecutive days. In 2025, the city recorded its warmest February since 2017, when maximum temperatures reached 38.7 degrees on February 25, followed by highs of 38.5 degrees on February 26.
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This is not an isolated event. Data obtained from IMD shows that in 2024, the city recorded its hottest day in February at 37.5 degrees, while in 2023, the warmest day was recorded at 37.9 degrees Celsius.
When can the city expect some relief?
While the city may see some relief with maximum temperatures in the range of 32 degrees to 33 degrees until February 11, maximum temperatures are expected to rise again to 35 degrees from February 13.
Over the weekend, temperatures are forecast to remain above 35 degrees until at least February 15 (Sunday), after which the city is expected to witness cloudy skies.
