Mumbai: Hot, humid conditions to remain for a week

he dry spell has also seen a steady rise in temperatures since August 4, with Monday’s daytime maximum at 32.5 degrees Celsius (up from 30.4 degrees Celsius a week ago)

With just 0.6mm of rain at Santacruz on Monday, the ongoing dry phase of the monsoon in the city is showing no signs of abating. In the week ending August 4, Mumbai recorded a 69% deficit in rain, seeing just 48.8mm of precipitation against the seasonal normal of 160mm.

A man swims in the sea to beat the heat, at Dadar Beach in Mumbai. (PTI)

The dry spell has also seen a steady rise in temperatures since August 4, with Monday’s daytime maximum at 32.5 degrees Celsius (up from 30.4 degrees Celsius a week ago). This is the third time in a decade that August temperatures have touched 32.5 degrees Celsius, and follows last year’s 10-year high of 33.5 degrees Celsius (on August 3). The city had previously touched a daytime high of 33.5 degrees Celsius (a record for August) on August 26, 1969.

As per the India Meteorological Department’s seven-day forecast for the city, “generally cloudy sky with moderate rain” is expected until at least August 13. With higher chances of rain expected August 14 onward, a dip in temperature is also expected around that time.

The relative humidity, meanwhile, dipped from 90% a week ago to 74% on Monday. “The humidity has dipped because the temperature is rising and rain is not adding moisture to the air,” said a meteorologist with the IMD’s regional forecasting centre in Mumbai.

The ongoing break in the monsoon, IMD officials said, is due to the lack of any sustained large scale weather systems in the region. With no vigorous monsoon trough in the vicinity, and without any low pressure systems in the Bay of Bengal, the influence of rain bearing westerly winds has become subdued, with a chance of revival only after August 14. Until then below normal rains are likely.