Navi Mumbai where 12 people died due to sunstroke has no IMD observatory

Navi Mumbai, the city where 12 people died due to sunstroke after attending an award function, has no observatory of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on the basis of which local weather alerts can be issued.

Navi Mumbai, the city where 12 people died due to sunstroke after attending an award function, has no observatory of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on the basis of which local weather alerts can be issued.

On the Maharashtra Government's request, the IMD had forecast that the temperature in Kharghar area of Navi Mumbai, where the function was held on April 16, could reach 34-35 degrees Celsius, based on the data from its Santacruz observatory in neighbouring Mumbai, located 35 km away, MeT officials said.

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However, on ground the temperature rose to 38 degrees Celsius. The temperature was recorded by the nearest observatory in Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in Rabale area of Navi Mumbai. The observatory is operated by the Thane-Belapur Industrial Association.

IMD scientist Sushma Nair told PTI that the observatory was revived in 2017 due to which enough observations are not there to calculate normals.

"If we do not have any observatory near a venue where an event is to take place, our protocol is we issue forecast on the basis of the nearest observatory. In this case, it was the Santacruz observatory," Ms. Nair said.

Unlike Mumbai, its satellite cities do not have a robust meteorological infrastructure.