Mumbai and surrounding areas received light showers on Monday morning, bringing much-needed respite from high minimum temperatures and pollution levels. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has now predicted light showers for Tuesday, due to the confluence of northwesterly and southeasterly winds extending over northwest India.
The IMD predicted that Mumbai and adjoining areas will witness a generally cloudy sky with the possibility of light rain throughout Tuesday.
As a result of the unseasonal rain, the maximum temperature in the city saw a drop. On Tuesday, India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Santacruz observatory recorded the minimum temperature at 20.8 degrees Celsius, while the Colaba observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 21.5 degree Celsius. Meanwhile, Santacruz and Colaba recorded a high temperature of 26.9 degree Celsius and 27 degree Celsius respectively.
The weather conditions also helped disperse pollutants. The air quality index (AQI) on Monday was 76, falling under the satisfactory category, according to the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Air Quality Index (AQI) for all pollutants was 83 (satisfactory) with PM2.5 levels in the satisfactory category at 44 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m3) against the safe limit of 60 µg/m3, and AQI for PM10 at 83 (satisfactory).
An AQI between 0-50 is marked good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101- 200 is moderate, 201- 300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor and 401-500 is considered severe.
Mumbai witnessed steady spells of light showers between Sunday night and Monday afternoon which led to drop in minimum temperatures and considerable dip in maximum temperatures.
Between 11.30 pm Sunday and 8.30 am Monday, the Santacruz weather observatory, representative of the suburbs and Mumbai, recorded 4.8 mm rain while 13.8 mm was recorded at Colaba weather station, representative of south Mumbai. Between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm Monday, 6.2 mm rain was recorded in south Mumbai and 1.1 mm in the suburbs. Maximum rain between Sunday and Monday was recorded at Kandivali at 18.6 mm followed by Colaba and Mazgaon 8.4 mm.
