Health problems may rise as mercury continues to dip

For Andheri resident Mona Shah, 64, the sudden fall in temperature may have put an end to her daily morning walk.

For Andheri resident Mona Shah, 64, the sudden fall in temperature may have put an end to her daily morning walk.

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“Though it’s the best season for a walk, my frozen shoulders have started acting up and my knees hurt,” said Shah. “If the temperatures falls further, I will have to discontinue walking till my body adapts to this change.”

“But finally, we can sleep without the air conditioner,” she added

On Saturday morning, with strong northerly winds travelling southwards, the city’s minimum temperature dipped two degrees below normal to 16° Celsius – the lowest this season.

The dip in temperature is a departure from last week’s minimum temperature recorded at 22° Celsius. Even the daytime maximum temperature has fallen to 29° Celsius from last week’s 33° Celsius.

According to doctors, the dip in mercury accompanied by cold winds puts the elderly at a health risk. However, people from all age groups can experience sore throat, runny nose and cold, say doctors.

“Though, the city doesn’t experience severe winter, low humidity results in rise in dust particles and consequent increase in air pollution,” said Dr S K Mohanty, medical director, Jaslok Hospital. “These allergen could lead to various types of respiratory diseases as well as viral infections like common cold, conjunctivitis, and viral fever.”

Strong winds are also sweeping over the rest of Maharashtra and adjoining states of Gujarat Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

In 2009, lowest temperature was recorded on December 31 at 13.4° Celsius at Santacruz. The minimum temperature in Colaba was 18.1° Celsius.

Three years ago, Mumbai had recorded an all-time low of 8.5° Celsius on February 8, the lowest in 46 years.