Pune: Winter's almost over and summer is officially three weeks away, but Pune woke up to a cloudy morning that seemed like the monsoon on Wednesday.
The mercury climbed to a humid 17 degrees C, a minimum temperature recorded for the first time this year. It was six degrees higher than normal and up from Tuesday's 13.5 degrees C.
Some parts of the city also reported light rainfall. The unusual weather, coupled with an increase in pollution in some parts, aggravated health problems, with a rise in respiratory tract infections in the city.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said medium and low clouds are persisting over central Maharashtra, causing minimum temperatures to increase higher than the normal by five to six degrees.
With an increase in moisture, pollution levels seemed higher in some locations on Wednesday. Katraj recorded poor air quality, data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting Research (SAFAR), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune showed.
An IMD official said the presence of moisture around 1.5km from the earth's surface could be a reason for hazy Wednesday. "Moisture tends to trap the pollutants emitted, which gives a hazy semblance to the day," he said.
The cloudy skies increased the humidity levels in Pune to the above normal mark. Humidity levels on Wednesday morning touched 78%, around 4% higher than the normal, while the evening turned out to be much more humid with 37% humidity, around 10% higher than the normal.
The official said a deep trough in the westerlies has been causing moisture incursion. "The trough extends over the Arabian Sea and goes all the way up to the northern plains. Moisture incursion has been causing cloud development in the middle and lower levels of the atmosphere. This situation is expected to continue for another day, after which we would be able to see clearer skies. However, after the subsequent two days, a similar situation may again be witnessed," the official said.
Family physician Avinash Bhondwe told TOI that the cold season coupled with an increase in humidity levels is an unusual combination. "Such weather conditions tend to irritate the respiratory tract. We have seen a 50% increase in patients complaining of respiratory tract infections since the last three days, Wednesday showing the highest increase. Sudden temperature fluctuations further compounded this problem," he said.
Bhondwe said patients have been experiencing symptoms like mild cold, body ache, headache and fever, followed by cough.
"Only symptomatic medications, without any antibiotics, are being prescribed. The fever in such conditions is typically by-phasic and stays for three to five days. Proper rest is a must to recover," he said.
He added that diabetics, pregnant women, cancer and HIV patients and others with a compromised immune system experience symptoms like severe throat pain, cough and breathlessness, they should immediately consult a physician and get checked for swine flu.
