Mumbai: Unexpected Rainfall Boosts City's Air Quality; IMD Predicts Continued Showers Till Tuesday

The city witnessed unseasonal rainfall accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms on Sunday morning. Several parts of the city and suburbs remained cloudy with light showers in the evening. The rainfall has improved the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Mumbai. Rain will persist throughout the state till Tuesday, said experts from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

Rainfall in mm in different parts of the city

The Colaba observatory recorded 9.2 mm of rainfall, while the Santacruz observatory recorded 5.2 mm of rainfall over the last 24 hours. According to IMD officials, the rainfall activities in the city and adjoining areas are affected by a trough forming on the Bay of Bengal coast. The trough is moving towards the Maharashtra coastline, which may lead to rainfall in several coastal districts, including parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan region (MMR).

"This trend will persist for the next two days throughout Maharashtra; then, it will decline by November 29," said Sunil Kamble, scientist and head of IMD (Mumbai). The air quality in Mumbai has been poor post-monsoon. Following the directives of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the BMC was in talks with a Dubai-based firm for cloud seeding in Mumbai. However, the cool breeze on Sunday changed the overall air quality of the city from poor to satisfactory.

Overall AQI stands at 94

On Sunday evening, overall AQI stood at 94, which is considered satisfactory. Colaba recorded an AQI of 108, followed by Borivali - 80, Andheri - 77, Mazgaon - 65, Bhandup - 60, Worli and Malad - 59, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). "The air quality was poor during Diwali, and the bursting of crackers further worsened it. We got to know from IMD that the temperature will remain low for the next few days," said a senior civic official.

As per IMD experts, whenever there is an El Niño, winters are mild, whereas the summers tend to be severe. Therefore, it is unlikely that the city will experience a significant drop in temperatures during the winter months. Sunil Kambale, head of IMD (Mumbai), said, "December is a transition month. So a fall in minimum temperatures is expected by the end of this month. The temperature has already dropped to 16 degrees in Marathwada, the central part of the state. However, when there will be a significant drop in temperature in Mumbai, we will send alerts. Currently, there is no large change."