Heat Wave

Mumbai experienced a unprecedented heat wave for last 2 days. This type of heat wave is rarely experienced by Mumbaikars in the month of March, when suddenly temp shot up to 41 deg C on Sunday 25th Mar  , and first time in my life, while sitting at home I could feel warm air coming inside through the window. On Monday also condition was same but max temp came down slightly to 38.7 deg C, the condition of warm air throughout the day still persisted. Last week the max temp was hovering around 31-33 deg C, and suddenly the jump of 8 deg brought the heat wave in Mumbai. Even minimum temp  also increased by 3-4 deg C in last 2 days.

Now what do the experts say on this type of weather conditions in Mumbai for last 2 days, which caused the max temp to rise by almost 8 deg- as per them the  presence of anti cyclone or a high pressure area which pushes hot air down towards the ground and let it diverges on to surrounding areas, heated up Mumbai and near by areas. Experts further add that heat waves due to anti cyclones are regular phenomenon in north during Apr- May- Jun period, as are cyclones in the Indian ocean, but occurrence in this type of conditions in march is very rare. In the current case of Mumbai, lower level(closer from ground) hot wind blew in a clockwise directions(which is the case for all anti cyclones in northern hemisphere) in a reverse C shape path starting from Rajasthan and ending in Mumbai. The sea breeze that normally starts at 1 pm daily in summer set in at 3 pm on Sunday/Monday. Hot easterlies delayed the sea breeze during these days.

Now how to protect yourself, when this type of heat wave is prevailing in the  city:

1. The best way to protect yourself, is to avoid direct contact with the sun during peak hours in the afternoon. Unless it is very urgent or compelling do not move out of your office or home. If you are at home, try not to sleep out, unless it is essential. Even if you are sweating inside, it is still better then having direct contact with sun rays.
2. Drink lot of water and stay hydrated, when the weather is so hot that it sucks away  all the water and moisture from your body.
3. Turn off the lights, these light fixtures also generate a heat, turning them off will cool the room down considerably.
4. Foods that are rich in proteins increase metabolic heat in the body. On the other hand consumption of alcohol leads to dehydration, which is very bad for the body. One must avoid both of these.
5. Taking a cold shower will cool you down significantly.  You can also keep your feet immersed in cold  water or soak wet towels and place them on your head or shoulders, it will make you feel much better.

I still remember Bombay of  1950s and early 60s, when there used to be only 2 seasons in Bombay monsoon and normal season. there was no summer or no winter. In the normal season there used to be cool breeze through out the day and having fans in the house is not necessity. I  remember, my father bought a first fan ,that too table fan, because there used to be no hook on the roof of the room to install a ceiling fan. In 50/55 years, situation has reached  such a state that have ACs in a  home has become a necessity. The main reason for this is increase in population from may be 50 lacs in early 60s to 200 lacs now, concretisation of buildings and roads, reduction in green areas of the city, increase in number of trees or green cover has not kept a pace with increase in population,   increase in number vehicles etc etc, and lastly lop sided approach of govt bodies in dealing with infra and developmental projects.

So in future also, Mumbaikars please be prepared to face this types of heat waves.

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