4 minutes of readingPuneFebruary 6, 2026 05:45 pm IST
On Friday, residents of Pashan woke up to a cool temperature of 14.1 degrees Celsius, indicating that summer may be in the air but winter is not yet gone. Shivajinagar had an even lower minimum temperature of 13.8 degrees Celsius.
However, that same morning, residents of Koregaon Park and Chinchwad probably thought of turning on the fan as it was around 18 degrees Celsius outside. Magarpatta mornings are a little warmer than most other parts of the city. On Friday, the mercury rose to 19.5 degrees Celsius there, the same as in Wadgaonsheri.
In PuneThe climate you get depends on where you live. While the state of the sun and clouds, among others, play an important role in what the thermometer shows, meteorological experts talk about other factors that contribute significantly to the temperature of an area.
Unexpected rise in mercury in Lavale
To the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in ShivajinagarScientist Dr. Sudeep Kumar said he noticed that Lavale recorded a higher-than-expected morning temperature. “You would think the temperature in Lavale would be lower, especially in the winter since it is far from the city limits, but records show it is a little higher,” he said.
“We checked it with the Automatic Weather Station (AWS) Equipmentthat records temperature, and discovered that the AWS is located on a university campus, near buildings. Now, if there are many buildings around, there will be changes in temperature. “especially the minimum temperature,” he added.
As the sun sets, the Earth’s temperature begins to cool as the day’s heat escapes through radiation. “But during the night, if there are several concrete buildings, we see a heat island effect. The concrete traps heat or absorbs more heat. The concrete slabs emit heat even at night. As a result, the atmosphere remains hot all the time. Urban heat islands These are some of the reasons why areas like Koregaon Park, Magarpatta, Wadgaonsheri and Chinchwad tend to record higher minimum temperatures. Vehicles also release fumes, which include greenhouse gases, and further trap heat,” Kumar said.
The role of instruments.
The instruments used to record temperature play a role in our understanding of weather. “Is the temperature recorded manually or automatically? Is the reading taken by the IMD or a private company? Is the instrument kept in an open space? Does it have proper exposure, with no shadows from buildings falling on it? There should not be much vegetation or any water body near where the temperature is being measured. If there is construction activity, including the Pune Metro, there is a possibility of the morning temperature rising,” said Dr Anupam Kashyapi, former head of weather forecasting at IMD.
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Kashyapi said temperature disparity is common in cities, adding that traffic congestion and population are other contributing factors. “It can be argued that Shivajinagar, which is a highly congested area in terms of vehicles, people and buildings, records a low minimum temperature. Here it has to be kept in mind that the Shivajinagar observatory is situated on the Agriculture College campus. This is an open space, so the readings are credible,” he said.
The hills between Senapati Bapat Road and Homi Bhabha Road play a role in lowering the temperature in Pashan, he said, adding: “When you cross St Joseph and Loyola high schools, you start to feel the taste of fresh air.”
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