Mumbai wakes up to coldest day of season

On Tuesday morning, the minimum temperature in the city dipped to the season’s lowest at 14.1 degrees, which was three degrees below normal.

Mumbaikars may well be pulling out thicker blankets as the new year got off to a nippy start. On Tuesday morning, the minimum temperature in the city dipped to the season’s lowest at 14.1 degrees, which was three degrees below normal. The maximum temperatures also dipped to 28.7 degrees.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) observatories at Colaba recorded a minimum temperature of 18 degrees and a maximum temperature of 29 degrees.

“The temperatures have been dropping since yesterday, and today we have seen a departure of three degrees from normal. It is because the winds are moving from northerly to northeasterly direction and there is a circulation of strong winds over the Konkan coast,” K S Hosalikar, the IMD’s deputy director general (western region), said on Tuesday.

The previous lowest minimum temperature of the season was recorded on December 21, 2017, when it touched 15.2 degrees. According to the IMD’s predictions for the coming week, temperatures are likely to rise until Sunday. “In the next 48 hours, we are not expecting a large change in the temperatures,” Hosalikar said.

Meanwhile, the city’s air quality also improved on Tuesday with the Air Quality Index standing at 185, which indicates moderate levels of pollution. Until Monday, the pollution levels lingered around 200, indicating poor air quality in the city.