Residents of Pune woke up to another unusually warm winter morning on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, as the city continued to record minimum temperatures significantly above the seasonal average. The Shivajinagar weather station logged a morning temperature of 12.9 degrees Celsius, marking a notable deviation from the norm for this time of year.
Temperature Variations Across Pune and Maharashtra
While the Shivajinagar reading showed a sharp drop from the 15.4 degrees Celsius recorded the previous day, it still remained 1.9 degrees Celsius above the normal average. The warmth was not uniformly distributed across the city. Magarpatta emerged as the warmest locality, registering a minimum temperature of 18.1 degrees Celsius. It was closely followed by Wadgaonsheri and Chinchwad, both recording 17.3 degrees Celsius. Pashan reported a comparatively cooler 12.3 degrees Celsius.
This pattern of above-normal winter temperatures extended across Maharashtra. Mumbai's minimum settled at 21.3 degrees Celsius, which is 1.7 degrees warmer than usual. Aurangabad recorded 13.8 degrees Celsius (2.0 degrees above normal), and Kolhapur saw 16.5 degrees Celsius (1.3 degrees above normal).
Meteorological Explanation for the Warm Spell
According to Dr. Anupam Kashyapi, former head of the weather forecasting division at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a specific atmospheric setup is responsible for the unseasonable warmth. "There is the presence of an anticyclonic wind pattern in the upper atmosphere over the east and central parts of Maharashtra," he explained.
This system is diverting the cold northerly winds, which typically bring chill to the region, towards Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha. Subsequently, winds are picking up moisture from the Bay of Bengal and blowing from east to west. These easterlies are carrying moisture-laden air into south and central Maharashtra. Dr. Kashyapi added that partially cloudy skies and shallow fog conditions in Pune are trapping heat near the surface by preventing the escape of long-wave radiation, leading to warmer nights and mornings.
Forecast and Regional Exceptions
The IMD predicts that minimum temperatures in Pune will remain largely constant over the next few days, hovering between 13 and 14 degrees Celsius until January 10. Daytime maximum temperatures, which stayed below 30 degrees Celsius on January 6 (Shivajinagar: 27.7°C, Pashan: 26.8°C, Koregaon Park: 29.5°C), are expected to see a marginal rise. The forecast indicates they could reach up to 32 degrees Celsius by January 9.
Vidarbha stands as a stark exception to the statewide warm trend due to its geographical positioning. Here, the northerly winds are less disturbed by the anticyclone, allowing colder air to prevail. Nagpur, for instance, recorded a minimum temperature of 7.6 degrees Celsius on January 6. Dr. Kashyapi warned that there is a chance of a cold wave in parts of the region, including Amravati, Wardha, and Nagpur, within the next 48 hours.
The current weather scenario underscores the variability within Maharashtra's winter climate, with western parts experiencing a persistent warm spell while eastern regions brace for colder conditions.
