Mumbaikars experienced cool weather on Friday morning, as the minimum temperature dipped to 19.6 degree Celsius.
The minimum temperature at the city's Santacruz observatory on Friday dipped to 19.6 degree Celsius, while the Colaba observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 23 degree Celsius. The IMD on Sunday had said that the city will witness a drop in temperature from Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the maximum temperature continued to remain high. According to Mumbai IMD's website on Friday, Santacruz and Colaba recorded a high temperature of 33.8 degree Celsius and 33.2 degree Celsius respectively.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature is likely to fall further in the next 2 to 3 days.
The drop in temperature affected the city’s air quality. The Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded on Friday for PM 2.5 was 176, which falls in the moderate category. The AQI in the city has been between moderate and poor since mid-October.
The AQI hovering in the ‘hazardous’ levels (especially in the later stages of winter) has been a concern for many years, medical experts have warned that air pollution can aggravate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Weather experts had earlier stated that the temperature may fluctuate between the normal level due to anticyclone wind patterns, but winter will arrive not sooner than December this year.
