Heat is on! Mumbai sizzles as temperature rises to 40.3° Celsius
Temperature in Mumbai has steadily risen since last Thursday, going up by 9.5 degrees in four days.
The city sizzled on Monday as temperatures rose to 40.3 degrees Celsius, an increase of 3.6 degrees in 24 hours, with the weather bureau expecting mercury to stay at that level today too.
Temperature in Mumbai has steadily risen since last Thursday, going up by 9.5 degrees in four days, and it peaked on Monday owing to “seasonal change in weather pattern”.
“The wind pattern has changed to north-easterly, which are dry and hot winds; and the sea breeze [relatively cooler winds] is setting in much later in the day. These factors have led to hot conditions, and this is expected to continue for the next two days at least,” said Sunil Kamble, scientist, India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Mumbaiites, however, found some respite, with humidity levels being as low as 26% in Santacruz, and slightly higher at 45% in Colaba on Monday.
March-end is when the summer season begins to set in, and hence the spike in temperature. Last year, too, Mumbai had recorded a temperature of 41 degrees Celsius on March 26. The all-time high temperature for March was recorded at 41.7 degrees Celsius on March 28, 1956.
Meanwhile, air quality in the city was ‘poor’ for the second consecutive day. An air quality index (AQI) of 266 (poor) was recorded on Monday, and it is expected to worsen to 268 (poor) on Tuesday. Researchers from the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said the rise in temperatures and moisture had allowed pollutant carrying capacity in the air to increase and low wind speed was not allowing pollutants to disperse. “North-easterly winds are also carrying more dust,” said Gufran Beig, project director, SAFAR.
While Navi Mumbai was the most polluted with an AQI of 372, Chembur had the cleanest air (AQI of 94) on Monday.