The India Meteorological Department on Thursday issued a heatwave warning in isolated pockets of Mumbai and neighbouring districts for March 9 and March 10.

The heatwave warning was extended to the districts of Thane, Palghar, Raigad as well as Ratnagiri on the Konkan coast.

The maximum temperature can reach 38 degrees Celsius on Sunday, The Times of India reported.

The weather conditions in most of these places are projected to be hot and humid on Friday and Saturday.

On Thursday afternoon, the Colaba observatory in Mumbai recorded a maximum temperature of 35.3 degrees Celsius, The Indian Express reported citing data from the weather department. This was more than five degrees above the normal temperature.

On Wednesday, the average maximum temperature in the city was 37.4 degrees Celsius.

The meteorologists have attributed the conditions to an anticyclone system forming in the region, the newspaper reported.

This is the second heatwave alert for Mumbai in the last two weeks. The warning was issued for February 25 and February 26 when temperatures of more than 38 degrees Celsius were recorded in the city for several days.

Last month was the hottest February India experienced since 1901, the India Meteorological Department said. The weather department started maintaining the records in 1901.

The department noted that there was an increase of 1.34 degrees Celsius in the average temperature in February, up from the normal of 20.70 degrees Celsius to 22.04 degrees Celsius.

The weather department also said that India is likely to experience above-normal temperatures and more heatwave days between March and May.

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