Mumbai wakes up to light rains, temperature to drop
Saturday’s unseasonal rains in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra have been attributed by IMD to passage of a western disturbance in the north which has pulled moisture from the Arabian Sea.
Mumbai woke up to an overcast sky on Saturday, with several parts of the suburbs reporting light rains in the morning. India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials attributed the unseasonal rains to the passage of a western disturbance in the north, due to which moisture is being drawn from the Arabian Sea and carried to parts of Maharashtra, including interior districts such as Nashik and Dhule. Officials also said temperatures in Mumbai are likely to fall sharply today.
“There are two western disturbances expected to pass over the region in the next seven days, creating an upper air cyclonic circulation over Rajasthan. These weather systems will pull moisture from the sea, and the wind direction is such that Mumbai, Thane, parts of Palghar and also some interior districts will see light to moderate rain, with a possibility of hailstorms in the interiors as well,” said a meteorologist with the IMD’s regional forecasting centre in Mumbai.
The official also said that the temperature, both during the day and night, will likely remain below normal till at least January 12.
“The minimum temperature could fall to as much as 15-16 degrees Celsius and the maximum will also fall to about 24 to 26 degrees Celsius. It will depend on how much more rain the city gets today. We don’t expect widespread rain, and any showers will be isolated,” the official cited above said.
As per IMD’s monitoring station at Santacruz, the city recorded a minimum temperature of 21.8 degrees Celsius on Saturday morning, up from 20.4 degrees Celsius on Friday. The maximum temperature recorded on Friday was 30.1 degrees Celsius.
Isolated drizzles and high wind speeds on Saturday also helped improve the air, with the air quality index on Saturday morning entering the ‘moderate’ category with an index value of 176, down from ‘poor’ air the day prior.
