At 12.4°C, Mumbai’s coldest December in three years

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that the temperature will further drop until New Year’s Eve. (Representational/Express photo: Amit Mehra)

Mumbai recorded the coldest December morning in three years on Thursday, as the minimum temperature dropped to 12.4 degrees Celsius — five notches below normal. The maximum temperature also saw a drop of 3 degrees below the normal at 29 degrees Celsius.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that the temperature will further drop until New Year’s Eve. “Over the last two days, Mumbai has experienced a drop in the maximum temperatures for the first time. With the northerly and northwesterly winds blowing from the Himalayas over the plains of northwest India, the city will see a further fall in the temperature by 2-4 degrees over the next couple of days,” said K S Hosalikar, deputy director general of meteorology at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai.

The IMD has also predicted a cold wave like conditions extending to Vidharbha from Friday morning for the next two to three days. The conditions are likely to occur in isolated pockets of Nashik and Ahmednagar districts. The interiors of Maharashtra recorded lowest temperature in the range of 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, while few areas reported temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius.

In 2017, the temperature on the coldest December day was 15.2 degrees Celsius and the lowest maximum temperature was 23.3 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature in the last 10 years has reached 11.4 degrees Celsius twice in 2011 and 2015.