Mumbai wakes up to second-warmest November morning in 10 years

Mumbai recorded a minimum temperature of 26.5 degrees Celsius, Mumbai woke up to its second-warmest November morning in 10 years on Wednesday

Recording a minimum temperature of 26.5 degrees Celsius, the city woke up to its second-warmest November morning in 10 years on Wednesday. The only time the state capital woke up to a higher minimum temperature was on November 4, 2018, when the mercury rose to 27.4 degrees Celsius.

Recording a minimum temperature of 26.5 degrees Celsius, Mumbai woke up to its second-warmest November morning in 10 years on Wednesday. The only time the state capital woke up to a higher minimum temperature was on November 4, 2018, when the mercury rose to 27.4 degrees Celsius. (HT PHOTO)

Experts attributed the rise in temperature to the continued influence of a low-pressure system in the Arabian Sea, close to the Maharashtra coast, which scuttled wind patterns and led to an influx of moisture over the Konkan.

“A weak low-pressure system is bringing moisture in from the sea. This is making the air warmer. Also, with the wind speeds remaining slow, there is no cooling effect. This increasing humidity is also a sign of a thunderstorm brewing around Mumbai,” said a meteorologist with the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) regional forecasting centre in Mumbai. He added that parts of south Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra received rainfall on Tuesday evening.

As per the IMD’s monitoring station in Santacruz, Mumbai’s relative humidity stood at 84% on Wednesday morning, significantly up from 64% the earlier day. Ratnagiri received 38mm of rain, Vengurla got 63mm over, Nanded 24mm, Satara 15.55mm, and Pune received 7.4mm of rainfall until 8:30 am on Wednesday.

There was also an improvement in Mumbai’s air quality. The city’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 269 at 8:30 am on Wednesday and improved significantly to 201 by 12:30 pm. Colaba continued to register the city’s most polluted air with an AQI of 320 (down from 370 the day prior). As per the Central Pollution Control Board, this can cause ‘respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.’ Malad, which clocked an AQI of 327 on Tuesday, showed improved air quality with an index value of 290 later.

A similar improvement was seen in Bandra-Kurla Complex, where the AQI dropped from 311 on Tuesday to 228 on Wednesday afternoon. Chembur (183), Borivali (133), Worli (93), Bhandup (99) and Navi Mumbai (113) also saw slight improvements.

“If it continues to rain through the night, the pollution levels will drop further, as will the minimum and maximum temperature,” said the IMD official cited above.

The city on Wednesday recorded a maximum temperature of 34.5 degrees Celsius, down from 35.7 degrees Celsius the previous day. As per the IMD’s seven-day forecast, maximum temperature will remain between 34 and 35 degrees Celsius over the next week, while the minimum temperature will remain between 24 and 25 degrees Celsius. Cloudy skies are expected to prevail till Sunday.