City feels nip in the air as temperature touches 19.5°C

For the first time this season, the city’s minimum temperature dipped below the 20-degree Celsius mark, with the suburbs recording 19.5 degrees Celsius – almost

For the first time this season, the city’s minimum temperature dipped below the 20-degree Celsius mark, with the suburbs recording 19.5 degrees Celsius – almost a degree above normal – on Friday.

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The Colaba weather station, which is representative of south Mumbai, recorded 22 degrees Celsius, a degree above normal. IMD expects similar weather conditions on Saturday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the wind pattern over the city was changing because of the prevailing western disturbance over north India. “Rains over northern plains and snowfall along the Himalayan region are changing the wind pattern to cool, northerly winds over Mumbai. Albeit late, winter is finally setting in over Mumbai,” said SG Kamble, scientist, IMD.

On Friday, Chembur was the coldest suburb, recording 17.2 degrees Celsius, followed by Powai at 17.8 degrees Celsius, Malad and Bhandup (19.1 degrees Celsius) and Kandivli (19.2 degrees Celsius). Across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Panvel recorded the lowest minimum temperature at 16.9 degrees Celsius, while the rest of Navi Mumbai recorded 19.4 degrees Celsius.

The city also witnessed a drop in its maximum temperature. While the suburbs recorded 30.4 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Celsius below normal), the city recorded 30.9 degrees Celsius, which was 1.3 degree Celsius below the normal temperature.

The lowest all-time December minimum temperature was recorded in 1949 at 10.6 degrees Celsius, while the lowest for the decade were in 2011 and 2015, when the temperatures dipped to 11.4 degrees Celsius.

Even as temperatures dropped, the city recorded better air quality, with the pollutant measuring indicator, air quality index (AQI), dropping from 202 (poor) to 179 (moderate) on Friday.

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