This April was cooler than usual for Mumbai, says IMD

The city saw a cooler-than-usual April this year, according to the India Meteorological Department

The city saw a cooler-than-usual April this year, according to the India Meteorological Department.

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Though officials did not provide comparative numbers for previous years, they confirmed that temperatures have been lower during the ongoing pre-monsoon season and unlike last year, the state also did not see any heat waves. They attributed this largely to the consistent present of rain-bearing weather systems over parts of central India (including parts of western and central Maharashtra).

The minimum temperature remained slightly higher, with an average of 25.21 degrees Celsius for April (up from a normal of 24.2 degrees Celisus), as per the IMD’s automatic weather station in Santacruz. The average maximum temperature reading of 33.8 degrees Celsius for the month was just above the normal reading of 33.2 degrees Celsius.

“A persistent low level wind discontinuity over the state has also brought in moisture from the Arabian Sea, which is one of the factors why Mumbai in particular has not seen above normal temperatures. Even Pune has seen a cooler-than-usual April due to thunderstorms and frequent precipitation,” said a spokesperson at IMD’s regional forecasting centre in Mumbai.

While the highest daytime reading last month stood at 35.8 degrees Celsius on April 7, it remained at just above 33 degrees Celsius on most other days, settling around 34 degrees Celsius only in the past week. On Friday, the mercury in Mumbai dipped to 33.4 degrees Celsius, but it is expected to climb to about 35 degrees Celsius by May 5.

Partly cloudy sky with possibility of thunder lightning has been predicted for Saturday and Sunday. There are no predictions of a heatwave at present, though officials have warned that temperatures will rise sharply this month once the influencing weather systems dissipate.