Mumbai: The climes they are a-changing! Brace yourselves for a chilly weekend and scrap plans to head out of the city to more salubrious climes because you can get that nice hill station feeling right here, in Mumbai. The Indian Meteorological Department has predicted a cold kick for Mumbaikars, as a further dip in minimum temperatures is expected. On January 24, at 13.4 degrees Celsius, Mumbai woke up to its lowest temperature in January and the second lowest of the season. On January 9, the minimum recorded temperature was 13.8 degrees Celsius. The weather bureau has said, “Cold wave conditions in north India are responsible for the drop in temperature and will continue till January 28.”
The Santacruz weather station recorded 13.4 degrees Celsius, 3.6 degrees below normal, while Colaba recorded 17.8 degrees Celsius, 1.8 degrees below normal. The maximum temperature in south Mumbai and the suburbs also fell below the 30-degree mark. Colaba recorded 27.6 degrees Celsius, 3.5 degrees below normal and Santacruz recorded 27.8 degrees Celsius, 3.3 degrees below normal. IMD officials attributed the drastic dip to dry northerly/north-westerly winds from the Himalayas over plains of north-west and central India. “It is a seasonal phenomenon and temperatures are expected to fall further for the next three days. As a result of snowfall over the northern parts of the country, cool northerly winds have brought down temperatures in Mumbai,” said KS Hosalikar, deputy director, IMD.
The minimum temperature in the beginning of the month fell to 14.6 degrees Celsius on January 2, 14.7 degrees Celsius on January 3, and 14.4 degrees Celsius on January 8. The lowest minimum temperature in January was 7.4 degrees Celsius, which was recorded in 1962, and the lowest for the decade in January was 10 degrees Celsius in 2012. Said a resident of Mumbai, Shweta Singh, “Over the weekend, temperatures had risen and suddenly there has been a dip, which is quite a relief.” Cool and pleasant nights will persist for the next three or four days. But expect day maximums to rise by a couple of degrees in the coming days, IMD officials have said. “This rise will not be significant enough to bring a major change in the weather and wintry conditions will persist in the city for at least some more days,” added official. Meanwhile, the air quality in Mumbai remained ‘moderate’, with the air quality index (AQI) at 173 on Friday. Andheri and Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) were the most polluted locations, with AQIs of 308 and 311, making them fall under the ‘very poor’ category.
Doctors have, however, warned these fluctuating temperatures can lead to seasonal diseases and have asked people to take precautions like covering their ears and heads for protection from chilly winds. The change in temperatures over the past few days has caused a spurt in cases of viral fever, sore throat, cough, body ache and stomach. “A large number of patients complaining of maladies like fever, cold, cough and sore throat owing to change in climate have been coming to the hospital,” added doctors.
