Mercury dips in Mumbai after two weeks of heat
Night temperature, however, remained above the normal mark
After two weeks of sweltering heat, day temperature in the suburbs and south Mumbai fell by almost two degrees Celsius below normal on Tuesday.
Temperature recorded at Santacruz weather station, representative of Mumbai and the suburbs, was 28.7 degrees Celsius — 1.9 degree Celsius below normal. Similarly, temperature recorded at Colaba was 28 degrees Celsius — 1.5 degree Celsius below normal.
Officials from the weather bureau said a shift in wind pattern has resulted in cooler conditions. They said temperature is likely to drop further in the coming days.
“Over the past two weeks, there was a fluctuation between warm easterly winds from the land and cooler winds from the sea. This kept the temperature above the 30 degree Celsius. As a result of rain from western disturbances in the northern parts of the country, cool northerly to north-easterly winds are passing over Maharashtra,” said KS Hosalikar, deputy director general, western region, India Meteorological Department. “We expect both day and night temperatures to drop in Mumbai and interior Maharashtra.”
Night temperature on Tuesday, however, remained above the normal mark. While Santacruz station recorded 19 degrees Celsius — 2.1 degree Celsius above normal, temperature at Colaba was 21 degrees Celsius, which was 2 degree Celsius above normal.
Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) remained in the moderate category for the third day in a row. On Tuesday, Mumbai recorded an AQI of 169, which is expected to drop to 124 on Wednesday. The AQI is measured by System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
Mumbai recorded a significant drop in day temperatures after two weeks. On January 8, south Mumbai and the suburbs 27.5 and 27.8 degrees Celsius. A day later on January 9, maximum temperatures began increasing when the city recorded 31 degrees Celsius. It peaked on January 16 to 35.6 degrees Celsius, and till Sunday (January 21) remained above the 30 degrees Celsius mark. On Monday, the day temperature in south Mumbai fell to 29.5 degrees Celsius but the suburbs recorded 31.5 degrees Celsius.