At 39.3°C, Mumbai was India's warmest city on Monday

On Monday, the maximum temperature in Mumbai's IMD Santacruz observatory was 39.3°C, the highest in the country that day.

The high temperatures were followed by rain, thunder, and lightning at night, which lasted until early Tuesday, lowering the maximum temperature for the day to 35.8°C.

The all-time high day temperature recorded in March is 41.6°C on March 17, 2011.

Hailstorms in Gorai

While dust storms were witnessed on Monday causing delays at Mumbai airport, residents in sections of MMR, such as Gorai, reported hail, which experts suggested could be the first hail activity in the Mumbai region in 17 years.

While speaking to Times of India, independent meteorologist Rajesh Kapadia of Vagaries of The Weather, a private weather forecasting blog, claimed that that Mumbai reported its first-ever hail on March 9, 2006.

Rainfall in Mumbai

On Tuesday parts of Mumbai recorded light rain. IMD, however, said that the rain was largely a drizzle and couldn't reach measuring levels.

The officials added that this kind of rainfall is not abnormal in March as it is as a pre-monsoon period.

Despite the rainfall, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city has remained 'poor'. As per SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research), Mumbai's AQI was at 225 as of 8 am on Wednesday, putting it in the 'poor' category.

Published on: Wednesday, March 08, 2023, 11:06 AM IST