Pune records season's lowest night temperatures at 16.8°C in NDA, 18.5°C in Shivajinagar

Pune city recorded its lowest night temperatures of the season on Friday, with the mercury dropping to 16.8°C at the National Defence Academy (NDA) and 18.5°C at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) observatory in Shivajinagar. The significant dip in minimum temperatures was driven by clear skies, low atmospheric moisture, and dry northerly winds that facilitated rapid heat loss after sunset.

The recent cooling trend marks a departure from the first half of October, when night temperatures in the city hovered above 21°C, peaking at 22.5°C on October 2. Although the mercury briefly fell below 20°C on October 4, it subsequently rose again over the following days before this latest decline. According to IMD scientist S. D. Sanap, the current drop is a classic result of radiative cooling, where the absence of cloud cover allows the ground to lose heat more readily during the night.

Across the city and its suburbs, the temperature variations were notable on Friday. While NDA and Shivajinagar recorded the lowest readings, other areas saw minimum temperatures of 18.6°C in Pashan, 19.6°C in Lohegaon, 22.4°C in Magarpatta, and 22.9°C in Chinchwad. Despite the cool nights, daytime conditions remain warm, creating a wide diurnal temperature range. Maximum temperatures are expected to touch 35°C over the weekend before gradually easing to 34°C on October 26, and further to 33°C by October 28 and 29.

The widening gap between daytime maximums and nighttime minimums highlights the transitional nature of the current weather pattern. IMD officials noted that a low-pressure area over the east-central Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into a depression and eventually a cyclonic storm, moving towards the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts. However, this system is not expected to bring significant moisture to Pune or most parts of Maharashtra, meaning no immediate relief from the daytime warmth in the form of rain.

Looking ahead, the crisp nights are likely to be short-lived. Sanap indicated that minimum temperatures will remain at current levels for the next two to three days before a gradual rise to 20-22°C, driven by moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal system. It remains too early to predict the onset of winter-like conditions, with a clearer picture of the seasonal transition expected to emerge by mid-November when more long-term weather data becomes available.