India Sees Hottest March in 122 Years, Mumbai Sizzles: Here's Why Summer Temperatures are Soaring and Is it Unprecedented?

Last month was the hottest March in India’s 122 years recorded history, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The mercury recorded in March surpassed all time-average maximum temperature record of March 2010. India saw average monthly day temperature during March 2010 surged to 33.09 degrees Celsius.

However, the mercury last month rose recording an average monthly day temperature at 33.1 degrees, surpassing all heat records for the month since 1901. Delhi on March 20 saw the maximum temperature at 39.9 degrees Celsius at the Pitampura monitoring station, which was the hottest day of the year.

The maximum temperatures were above normal by 4.5 degrees over most parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, and Rajasthan.

Surge in March Unprecedented?

The high mercury in March is not unprecedented in any way. The March temperatures in 2020 and 2021 also broke records in the country.

March 2021 was the third warmest in 121 years in terms of monthly average maximum temperature, according to IMD.

The IMD, in its review for the month, said the observed monthly average maximum, minimum and mean temperature for the country as a whole during March this year are 32.65 degrees Celsius, 19.95 degrees Celsius and 26.30 degrees Celsius, respectively, against the normal 31.24 degrees Celsius, 18.87 degrees Celsius and 25.06 degrees Celsius based on the climatology period 1981-2010.

Several parts of the country had recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in March.

Why India is Seeing Early Heatwaves

Experts say that the rising mercury in March is not just restrained to India, but it has been globally observed.

“Globally also, the hottest years have been among the last two decades. Climate change is impacting severe weather intensity and duration, even in India — be it in terms of heatwaves, cyclone intensity or even heavy rainfall,” Rajendra Jenamani, scientist, National Weather Forecasting Centre at IMD told Times of India.

Over the years dry spells had become longer in some instances while extreme rain have got bigger and hot spells have become hotter.

Mumbai Breaks Record

The maximum temperatures in Mumbai in March touched 40 degrees to the highest for the year at 39.4 degrees, the IMD Santacruz observatory recorded.

IMD data reveals that Mumbai recorded over 40 degrees in March during 2021, 2019, 2018, 2015 and 2013, with the hottest March day (41.7 degrees) recorded on March 28, 1956.

Above-normal Maximum Temperature in April

Northwest and central India and parts of the northeast are expected to experience above-normal maximum temperatures in April, the IMD said. Normal to below normal maximum temperatures are likely in south peninsular India, many parts of the eastern parts of the country and the adjoining areas of the northeast, India Meteorological Department Director-General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.

India is expected to receive normal rainfall of the long period average (LPA) in April, the weather office said. It said northwest and central India and some parts of northeast India were expected to receive below-normal rainfall in April.

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