India, March 11 -- A prolonged and stronger anticyclonic circulation in the Arabian Sea, along with easterly winds, resulted in the suburbs experiencing a severe heatwave on Tuesday, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) upgraded its warning to an orange alert from a yellow alert.

At Santacruz, the city's base weather station, the maximum temperature soared to 40 degrees Celsius, 7.6 degrees above normal. It was also the highest daytime temperature since 2021, when the maximum temperature stood at 40.9 degrees Celsius on March 28. The hottest March day on record was on March 28, 1956, when the maximum temperature touched 41.7 degrees Celsius.

When the maximum temperature departure is 6 degrees above normal, the IMD declares a hea...