IMD doubts authenticity of high heat recorded at Bhira

"The IMD has reported temperature as high as 43 degree Celsius on Monday. It was a holiday on Tuesday, hence temperature was not recorded.

"When the temperature (at Bhira) was reported to be 46.5 degrees Celsius, we realised that something is wrong as no other place nearby recorded so high a temperature," said S G Kamble, divisional in-charge of Regional Meteorological Department at Colaba in Mumbai.

"No nearby location has recorded temperature close to 46.5 degrees Celsius. It clearly means, the recorded figures are to be doubted," he said.

For instance, Akola today recorded temperature at 44 degrees Celsius. Its nearby areas such as Wardha, Nagpur and Chandrapur have recorded 43 degrees Celsius. But in the case of Bhira, no nearby region had reported even 43 degrees Celsius," said the IMD official.

"Geographically, Bhira village is located in the Sahyadri mountains in Raigad district. It is a village close to a dam. The mountains are covered with dense forest. The height of the mountains around Bhira would be minimum 2,000 feet. In such a situation, if the mapping centre shows 46.5 degrees, it should be doubted," he said.

Those doing the temperature mapping at Bhira are not the employees of IMD though they were trained by the agency, he said, adding, "We will visit the location and find out why such a high temperature is being recorded.