Ahmedabad sweats at 42.2°C, hottest in Gujarat on June 8

Ahmedabad: For Amdavadis stepping outside, the city felt like a sauna on Monday. At 42.2°C, nearly one and a half degrees above the seasonal normal, the city recorded the highest maximum temperature in the state.

The night offered little respite, with the minimum temperature refusing to drop below a sticky 29.9°C, 0.4 degree higher than normal.

It wasn’t the mercury making life miserable; it was the moisture. Relative humidity swung from a suffocating 62% at 8.30am to 36% by 5.30pm, trapping citizens in a relentless blanket of hot and humid air. Unfortunately for those looking for immediate relief, the India meteorological department (IMD) predicts a similar pattern on Tuesday, warning that this sweaty status quo will hold steady for the next seven days.

While Ahmedabad baked alongside other hot zones like Bhavnagar (41.4°C) and Surendranagar (41.2°C), a silver lining is finally appearing on the horizon. The IMD reported that conditions are becoming increasingly favourable for the southwest monsoon to march through the central Arabian Sea, Karnataka, and Telangana.

For Gujarat, the real hope lies closer to home: parts of south Gujarat are expected to catch light to moderate pre-monsoon showers by the weekend.