Patna: March is usually a comfortable month for Patna, when winter is on the verge of bidding adieu and summer set to step in, but that is changing.

There was not much respite from the surging mercury on Friday, with the minimum temperature in Patna recorded at 20°C - three degrees above normal. The maximum temperature too was at 35°C, marking the advent of summer.

The maximum temperature during this time of the year usually remains under 30°C with the minimum mostly settling in mid-teens, said an official of the Patna Met department on Friday. However, "both the day and night temperatures across Patna are on the rise and the maximums are settling above normal for the last four to five days," the official said.

Patna Met department senior scientist Anand Shankar said: "As of now, no major changes are expected in the weather of Patna. Both the day and night temperatures are expected to rise further marginally. Hence, Patnaites would once again have to bear with the warm and sunny days with the possibility of temperatures rising even more as the days pass."

However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its weather forecast on Friday stated that a fresh feeble western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region from March 19.

The western disturbance is over Jammu and Kashmir and is moving eastwards, the IMD said, and that could bring in some clouds over the Patna region from March 18-20, the Met official said.

A trough has also been seen extending from east Uttar Pradesh across east Madhya Pradesh and up to east Vidarbha, which could bring moisture over the region responsible for the partly cloudy sky, the weatherman said, adding: "Pre-monsoon rain in north-eastern India could also bring the temperature down though not very significantly."

He added: "Currently, there is an anti-cyclone (circulation of winds around a region of high atmospheric pressure) in the Bay of Bengal. This is not allowing advection, which means the sea breeze that helps in cooling the temperatures, is not flowing towards land. The combined effect is leading to such warm conditions."

Shankar said: "We are not expecting much drop in temperature in Bihar over the next few days as dry and hot westerly winds are blowing in the region at present."

However, there is still some time for heat wave systems to creep in, Shankar added.