Earlier this week, Mumbaikars experienced an intense heatwave as temperatures in the city touched 40°C, about 6-7°C above the normal March average. It was the first time in five years that Mumbai recorded such extreme March heat, the last instance being March 28, 2021, when the city touched 40.9°C. A recent study suggests that climate change is driving these extreme heat events, not just in Mumbai but across several parts of India.

What makes the heat unusual is that it has occurred despite the presence of La Nina, a climate pattern linked to cooler sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that typically brings relatively cooler conditions, especially to coastal cities like Mumbai. La Nina events usually occur every two to seven years, and the most recent one occurred in 2025.