Mumbai, March 11 -- A prolonged and stronger anticyclonic circulation in the Arabian Sea, along with easterly winds, resulted in the suburbs experiencing a severe heatwave on Tuesday, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) upgraded its warning to an orange alert from a yellow alert. At Santacruz, the city's base weather station, the maximum temperature soared to 40 degrees Celsius, 7.6 degrees above normal. It was also the highest daytime temperature since 2021, when the maximum temperature stood at 40.9 degrees Celsius on March 28. The hottest March day on record was on March 28, 1956, when the maximum temperature touched 41.7 degrees Celsius. In the north Konkan region that includes Mumbai, Dahanu also experienced a severe heatwave, logging a maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius (9.6 degrees above normal). Ram Mandir for the second consecutive day recorded a high of 42.4 degrees Celsius, followed by Vikhroli (41.6 degrees Celsius) and Byculla (40 degrees Celsius). South Mumbai, however, escaped a heatwave, with a maximum temperature of 35.4 degrees Celsius, 5.4 degrees above normal. Senior IMD scientist Sushma Nair reiterated that the significant increase in temperature was due to the anticyclonic circulation in the Arabian Sea near south Gujarat and neighbouring areas, including Mumbai. "It has become stronger over the last few days and has also lasted longer. Easterly winds that are causing the sea breeze to set in late are adding to the heat," said Nair. The IMD has issued a yellow alert, warning of heatwave conditions in isolated pockets in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad and Ratnagiri on Wednesday. In less than a week, Mumbai has experienced two heatwaves. On March 5, Mumbai experienced its first heat wave of the season-also the earliest in at least a decade-with the maximum temperature touching 38.9 degrees Celsius....