After days of summer-like hot and humid conditions, Mumbai residents were in for a delight on Tuesday morning as the city recorded the lowest temperature of the season so far with the Santacruz observatory recording a minimum temperature of 16.2 degrees Celsius. According to scientists and weather experts, the coastal city is experiencing a drop in temperature owing to the northerly winds that arrived on Sunday. The Regional Meteorological Centre in Colaba, meanwhile, recorded a minimum temperature of 18.8 degrees Celsius, indicating a sharp drop from Monday when it was 22 degrees Celsius. Before this, the coldest day of the season was January 6 when the temperature dropped to 17.5 degrees Celsius. Following this drop, however, the city started experiencing a sudden temperature rise. Amid the soaring heat, Mumbai also recorded the warmest day in January in the past seven years at 35.7 degrees Celsius on January 12. Speaking to The Indian Express, Sushma Nair, Scientist at IMD Mumbai, said, "Last week, the city was reeling under high temperatures owing to the prominent southeasterly winds, which are moist in nature. However, since Sunday, we have had the northerly wind component, which is dry and cold, which has resulted in a drop in temperature.” The maximum temperature in the city has also dropped from Monday’s nearly 34 degrees Celsius to around 31 degrees in the suburbs as well as in the island city division. The maximum temperature is expected to remain between 30 - 31 degrees Celsius for a day or two, before dropping below 30 degrees, IMD scientists said. Mumbai also breathed easy with the overall AQI touching 69, which is categorised as ‘satisfactory’. Barring two, the city’s 24 stations recorded an AQI in double digits. The best air quality was observed in Vile Parle West (45) and Borivali East (38) where the AQI dropped below 50, which falls in the ‘good’ category. "The change in wind direction is largely responsible for the good AQI," Nair said.
