No respite from heat wave in Maharashtra

There was no relief from the heat wave sweeping parts of Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra with high temperatures continuing on Saturday.

Chandrapur burnt at a high of 48 degrees Celsius -- the highest temperature recorded in the state so far -- and two points higher than Friday's 46 degrees -- though there were no officially recorded heat wave casualties in the state so far.

Nagpur followed with 47 degrees Celsius while Wardha stood at 46 degrees, and Akola remained constant like Friday at 45 degrees.

Yavatmal also remained constant at 44 degrees, while Jalgaon notched up a degree from 43 to 44 since Friday.

While Solapur and Parbhani recorded 43 degrees Celsius, Aurangabad and Amravati recorded 42 degrees; Nanded, Osmanabad and Buldhana were slightly comfortable at 41 degrees Celsius each.

The weather continued to be dry in most districts in the hinterland, with humidity levels as low as 32 percent (Nagpur), (34) Akola, (35) Amravati, (37) Chandrapur and (38) Yavatmal.

For the first time this week, the salubrious hill station of Mahabaleshwar recorded 28 degrees Celsius, down from the high of 30 degrees on Friday, after it recorded a continuous high of 29 degrees earlier this week. This was the lowest temperature recorded in the state on Saturday.

The temperature in coastal areas like Mumbai remained constant at 35 degrees on Saturday while other seaside districts like Raigad and Ratnagiri stood at 34 degrees, but with high humidity levels.

A surprise cloud cover during the day over Mumbai and parts of coastal Konkan areas brought some relief from the heat, though the temperatures and humidity levels remained unchanged.