Maharashtra weather, 22 to 26 October: hot and humid in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad; thundershowers in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Kolhapur till the 23rd

Over the next few days Maharashtra will feel the heat more than the rain. According to the district forecast issued by the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) regional centre in Mumbai on the morning of Thursday, 22 October, parts of Palghar, Thane, Mumbai and Raigad will be hot and humid today. Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Kolhapur may get light to moderate showers with thunder on 22 and 23 October. From 24 to 26 October, every district in Konkan, Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada is shown as dry.

District by district, day by day

From IMD Mumbai’s five-day district forecast, issued at 9.03 am on 22 October:

• Palghar, Thane, Mumbai, Raigad: hot and humid in isolated pockets on Thursday, 22 October; dry from 23 to 26 October.
• Ratnagiri: light rain or thundershowers on 22 October; light to moderate rain with thunder on 23 October; dry from the 24th.
• Sindhudurg: light to moderate rain and thundershowers on 22 and 23 October; dry from the 24th.
• Kolhapur (including the ghats): light to moderate rain and thundershowers on 22 and 23 October; dry from the 24th.
• Satara: light to moderate rain or thundershowers over the ghats on Friday, 23 October; the rest of the district dry all five days.
• Sangli: light rain or thundershowers on 23 October; dry on the other days.
• Pune (including the ghats), Solapur, Ahilyanagar, Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon: dry from 22 to 26 October.
• Marathwada (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Parbhani, Beed, Hingoli, Nanded, Latur, Dharashiv): dry all five days.
• Vidarbha’s eleven districts: no warning on any of the five days. IMD’s national bulletin shows Vidarbha dry for the whole week.

Up to 37°C in Mumbai

IMD Mumbai’s local forecast on Thursday morning says the city and suburbs will have a mainly clear sky over the next 48 hours, with hot and humid conditions in isolated pockets. The maximum is likely to be around 37°C and the minimum around 26°C. On IMD’s district warning map (updated 21 October), Palghar, Thane, Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban and Raigad are coloured yellow for a ‘hot day’. Agrowon reported this as a yellow alert for those four districts on 22 October.

IMD’s national bulletin says that on 21 October the maximum temperature was 3.1 to 5°C above normal at many places in Konkan and Goa and at most places in Marathwada. Figures carried by Agrowon show that in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning Solapur was the hottest place in the state at 37.2°C, followed by Washim at 37°C, while Santacruz in Mumbai recorded 36.3°C. Sakal, citing the weather department, reported that maximum temperatures could rise gradually by 2 to 3°C over the next two days.

The low-pressure areas: how much do they affect Maharashtra?

IMD’s all-India bulletin on the morning of 22 October shows low-pressure areas in both seas, but both are far from Maharashtra:

• Arabian Sea: the low-pressure area over the southwest Arabian Sea now lies off the Somalia coast and is very likely to move west, towards Somalia.
• Bay of Bengal: a second low-pressure area lies over the southwest Bay of Bengal near Tamil Nadu, north Sri Lanka and the Gulf of Mannar.
• A new system: under the influence of a cyclonic circulation over the Andaman Sea, another low-pressure area is likely to form over the southeast and adjoining east-central Bay of Bengal around 23 October, then move west-northwest and intensify.

The heavy to very heavy rain warnings linked to these systems are mainly for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Lakshadweep. The bulletin’s seven-day table shows isolated rain over Konkan-Goa and Madhya Maharashtra from 22 to 24 October, isolated rain over Marathwada on the 22nd only, and dry weather over all four subdivisions from 25 to 28 October. For the 24th, however, IMD Mumbai’s district forecast shows every district as dry.

A report in Pudhari mentions a preliminary forecast of light rain in the state between 26 and 28 October. IMD’s official forecast of 22 October does not show rain in Maharashtra on those days. IMD itself advises people to keep checking its latest forecasts and warnings.

When there is lightning (IMD’s advice)

• Do not work in fields or open spaces while a thunderstorm is on.
• Do not shelter under tall trees or next to tall structures.
• Unplug electrical and electronic appliances at home.
• If you are in a river, lake or any water, get out at once.
• Stay away from anything that conducts electricity.

For farmers: harvest time

If harvesting is under way in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, Sangli or the Satara ghats, these points from IMD’s agromet advisory apply:

• Harvest mature crops as early as possible and keep them somewhere safe.
• If threshing cannot be done right away, cover the harvested produce properly.
• Move stored grain to a safe place to protect it from unseasonal rain.
• Avoid irrigation and any chemical spraying during this period.
• Make arrangements to drain excess rainwater from the fields.
• Keep cattle safely in the shed during thunderstorms.

One general suggestion from us: if soybean or paddy is drying in the yard or on the threshing floor, keep a tarpaulin at hand so you can cover it quickly if clouds build up in the afternoon. In the rest of the state, the dry spell can be used for harvesting and drying; just take breaks when working in the midday sun.

Coping with the heat

• Drink enough water through the day; don’t wait until you are thirsty.
• Avoid going out in the harsh afternoon sun if you can; if you must, carry a cap or umbrella.
• Wear light, loose, light-coloured cotton clothes.
• If you feel dizzy, get a headache or feel unusually tired, rest in the shade; see a doctor if it gets worse.
• Take extra care of older people, small children and anyone working outdoors.

The heat tips above are general advice. The latest forecast for your area is on IMD’s website, mausam.imd.gov.in, and on its Mausam app, with lightning alerts on the Damini app.

Sources: IMD, All India Weather Forecast Bulletin (22 October 2026); IMD Mumbai, district forecast (22 October); IMD Mumbai, local forecast for Mumbai; IMD, district warning map; Agrowon; Sakal; Pudhari