Maximum temperature drops in Mumbai; air quality remains poor

Maximum temperature in the city and suburbs dropped marginally on Sunday owing to north and northwesterly winds.

The maximum temperature in Colaba was recorded at 29.4 degree Celsius, a drop by almost 3 degrees from Saturday and a drop of 1.3 degrees from normal. The Santacruz weather station of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) also recorded a temperature of 30.9 degree Celsius, a drop from 34.2 degrees recorded on Saturday and a drop of 0.4 degrees from normal.

The drop in temperatures was in line with the forecast of IMD, which had predicted slightly colder days for two-three days starting Sunday.

“The fall in temperatures is mostly due to the cold northerly and northwesterly winds from the northern plains along with the passage of western disturbance. The conditions are expected to continue for the next two to three days,” said KS Hosalikar, deputy director-general of the western region, IMD.

The minimum temperature at Santacruz was slightly higher on Sunday, as compared to Saturday. Santacruz recorded a minimum temperature of 20.4 degree Celsius, 1 degree higher than Saturday and 3 degrees above normal. In Colaba, the minimum temperature of 21.6 degrees continued on Saturday and Sunday, which is 1.8 degrees above normal.

According to the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), air quality continued to remain poor on Sunday. An overall air quality index (AQI)—a pollutant measuring indicator — of 252 (poor) was recorded on Sunday.

Air quality deteriorating is a routine phenomenon during winter as wind directions change and more wind comes in from the land instead of the sea, according to a spokesperson from SAFAR. Very poor quality of air was recorded at Navi Mumbai with an AQI of 310. Bandra Kurla Complex breathed the worst air in the city with an AQI of 329. Malad and Chembur recorded AQI of 316.