Cooler nights return to Pune as minimum temperature drops to 12.1°C in NDA; brief relief likely till weekend

Pune: The city recorded a minimum temperature of 14.6°C at Shivajinagar on Thursday, marking the lowest reading in the past few days. Other parts of the city were cooler, with NDA recording 12.1°C, indicating a gradual fall in night temperatures. Independent weather forecaster Abhijit Modak said the cooling trend is in line with the earlier outlook. "The expected drop in minimum temperatures has begun this week and will continue till the weekend. A feeble western disturbance is bringing in northwesterly winds, which are leading to the cooling," he said.
He added that clearer skies are also aiding the dip in night temperatures. "Minimum temperatures are likely to dip slightly further till Saturday. For west Maharashtra, including Pune, maximum temperatures are expected to be around 31–32°C, while minimum temperatures could fall to 11–13°C around Feb 27–28," Modak said. However, he said that the cooling spell will be short-lived. "This is likely to be the last spell of relatively cooler nights. After this weekend, temperatures will begin rising again, and summer-like conditions will gradually set in," he said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast Pune's minimum temperature to remain around 15°C till March 1, followed by a rise thereafter. Meteorologists said the cooling impact is more pronounced over parts of Konkan and north Maharashtra, while Marathwada and Vidarbha are likely to see a lesser drop in temperatures. IMD has forecast a gradual fall of 1–2° in minimum temperatures over the interior parts of Maharashtra during the next three days, followed by a gradual rise thereafter. No significant change in minimum temperatures is expected over Gujarat state during the next seven days, the forecast added. Across Maharashtra, maximum temperatures continued to hover below normal in several regions, particularly Madhya Maharashtra, where Nashik recorded 33.3°C on Thursday, over 2° below normal. Meanwhile, Vidarbha was hotter, with Amravati and Brahmapuri also reporting temperatures around 36°C, reflecting persistent daytime heating over eastern parts of the state. In Madhya Maharashtra, most stations recorded maximum temperatures in the 33–35°C range. Solapur touched 36.2°C, while Kolhapur and Sangli remained in the mid-30°Cs. However, night temperatures showed a marginal dip in parts of the interior, with Nashik recording 14.4°C. In Pune, the maximum temperature in Shivajinagar on Thursday was 33.3°C, near normal, IMD data showed. Meteorologists said the slight fall in minimum temperatures is linked to clearer skies and a shift to drier northwesterly winds following the passage of a weak western disturbance.