Mumbai temperature drops to lowest in January 2019

At 13.8°Celsius, Mumbai woke up to its lowest temperature of the month and second lowest of the season on Wednesday.

The Santacruz weather station recorded 13.8°C, 3.4 degrees below normal, while Colaba recorded 17.5°C, 2 degrees below normal. The maximum temperature in south Mumbai and the suburbs also fell below the 30°C-mark. Colaba recorded 28.5°C, 1.6 degrees below normal and Santacruz recorded 29.8°C, a degree below normal.

The lowest temperature of the season was 12.4°C, recorded on December 27. The minimum temperature in the beginning of the month fell to 14.6°C on January 2, 14.7°C on January 3, and 14.4°C on Tuesday. The lowest minimum temperature in January was 7.4°C, which was recorded in 1962, and the lowest for the decade in January was 10°C in 2012.

The weather bureau said cold wave conditions in north India were responsible for the drop in temperature. “This is a seasonal phenomenon. Cool winds from the north will continue to keep temperatures over Mumbai and surrounding areas between 13 and 15 degrees Celsius through the week,” said KS Hosalikar, deputy director general, western region, India Meteorological Department (IMD).

In interior parts of the state, Jalgaon recorded the lowest temperature at 6°C, followed by Nashik and Nagpur at 7°C. Other areas across central Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Marathwada recorded minimum temperatures in the 8-10°C.

Meanwhile, air quality in Mumbai remained in the poor category as the pollutant-measuring indicator – air quality index (AQI) – was recorded at 237 and is expected to be 227 (poor). Andheri and BKC were the most polluted locations with AQI at 350 and 334, both falling under the ‘very poor’ category. The city could expect a clear sky with day and night temperatures expected at 31 and 14 degrees Celsius.

First Published: Jan 10, 2019 01:00 IST