Pune: The mild winter is likely to continue in Maharashtra for at least another week under the influence of easterly winds before colder night conditions return towards the end of Jan.India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said minimum temperatures across the state were unlikely to drop significantly over the next seven days because easterly winds and residual moisture were limiting night-time cooling. S D Sanap, scientist at the IMD, said there was unlikely to be any large change in minimum temperatures over the next few days. He said, “The dry and cold northwesterly winds that typically bring a sharper winter chill have weakened. Easterly winds are currently dominating the conditions, leading to increased cloudiness over parts of Maharashtra. When nights remain cloudy, heat absorbed by the earth during the day is trapped by the cloud cover and released back towards the surface, preventing temperatures from falling sharply and resulting in relatively warmer nights.“Sanap said extended range forecast (ERF) signals showed above-normal minimum temperatures during the first week (January 16-22), while the second week (Jan 23-29) indicated a mixed tendency. He said during the second week of the forecast period, from Jan 23 to 29, parts of Maharashtra could experience lower minimum temperatures compared to current levels, indicating a return of near-normal winter night conditions. “As for the next six to seven days, minimum temperatures are expected to remain more or less at current levels because of easterly influence,” he added.Weather on Friday reflected this trend. In Pune, minimum temperatures stayed above normal at most locations. Shivajinagar recorded a minimum of 13.2°C and Pashan 12.8°C. Lohegaon and Chinchwad reported warmer nights at 17.3°C. Magarpatta recorded a minimum of 18.2°C, while NDA was cooler at 11.4°C. An IMD national bulletin on Friday said there was likely to be no significant change in minimum temperatures over Maharashtra till Saturday, followed by a gradual rise of 2–3°C over the subsequent three days, and no significant change thereafter.
