Mumbai witnessed cooler, wetter January this year than 2021

The average daily maximum dipped from 30.6 degrees Celsius last year to 30.2 degrees Celsius last month.

Mumbai: The city was noticeably cooler in January this year than in 2021, with the average daily minimum temperature settling at 18.3 degrees Celsius, down from 19.2 degrees in the year before. Mumbai’s lowest daily minimum reading of 13.2 degrees Celsius (recorded on January 10) this year was also lower than the 14.8 degrees Celsius recorded on January 29, 2021. Besides, the average daily maximum dipped from 30.6 degrees Celsius last year to 30.2 degrees Celsius last month.

IMD officials attributed January’s weather conditions to the influence of two western disturbances which brought rains to the city on January 8 and January 22, with a dust event following after the latter. (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

“A preliminary analysis suggests that there were 11 days this January during which the minimum temperature in Mumbai (Santacruz) was below the monthly normal value of 17.3 degrees Celsius. This January was definitely cooler and wetter than January 2021 during which there were nine days when the minimum temperature was below the normal value. If one considers the recent five years (2018–2022), the number of days in January with the minimum temperature below the monthly normal value has reduced from around 20 days in 2018–2019 to around 10 days in 2021–2022,” said Akshay Deoras, an independent meteorologist and PhD candidate with the University of Reading, UK.

While it is not possible to deduce any inference about changes in climate patterns using data from such a short time series, Deoras said that the numbers “definitely show a strong inter-annual variability in minimum temperatures, and how the effect of weather systems such as western disturbances can vary and modulate the winter season in Mumbai.”

IMD officials attributed January’s weather conditions to the influence of two western disturbances which brought rains to the city on January 8 and January 22, with a dust event following after the latter.

“With just above 4.5 mm of rain last, it was the wettest January on record because it rained at a time when temperatures are anyway coolest in the year. There were two noticeable spells when the temperatures dropped very suddenly because of the presence of moisture and also northerly winds, whereas last January the day to day variation would have felt more gradual,” said an official with the India Meteorological Department’s regional centre in Mumbai.

Deoras said that the dust event on 23 January and subsequent historic degradation of the air quality was the “most interesting meteorological phenomenon” in Mumbai during January.

On Tuesday, the minimum temperature in the city once again fell from 17 degrees Celsius on Monday to 14.8 degrees Celsius (three degrees below normal). This was the coolest morning in Mumbai in a week, which the IMD official attributed to a change in wind direction.

“There has been a slight shift and we are getting cold winds directly from the north. This may continue for a day or two after which there will again be an increase in the temperature,” the official added.

The daytime temperature on Tuesday also dipped to 30.6 degrees Celsius (one degree below normal), down from 32.1 degrees Celsius the day prior.