Mumbai records season’s coldest December day as minimum temp dips to 14.9°C

Mumbai recorded its coldest December day with a minimum temperature of 14.9°C, while air quality remains moderate with an AQI of 112.

MUMBAI: The city continued to experience a spell of cool weather on Friday, with the Santacruz observatory recording a minimum temperature of 14.9°C, around 3.6°C below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). This is the coldest December day of the season so far. The maximum temperature at Santacruz, however, remained near normal at 32.5°C.

December temperatures have dipped lower in recent years. (Praful Gangurde/ HT Photo)

December temperatures have dipped lower in recent years. Last year, the city recorded a minimum of 13.7°C, while the sharpest drop in the past decade was in 2015, when the mercury slid to 11.4°C.

At the Colaba observatory, the minimum temperature was 20.6°C, marginally below normal, while the maximum settled at 33°C, about a degree below the December average.

IMD officials attributed the current cool conditions to a steady flow of dry northerly winds sweeping into the region. “Minimum temperatures are expected to remain around 15°C for the next two to three days. Once easterly winds begin influencing the region, temperatures will rise and could reach around 18°C by the weekend,” an IMD official said.

Despite the cooler weather, the city’s air remained in the moderate category. Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 4 pm stood at 112, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).