Mumbai to see a cool Christmas as IMD predicts mercury to drop to 14°C

The drop in temperatures came a day after the city reeled under highs of nearly 34 degrees Celsius, making Mumbai the warmest city of Maharashtra on Sunday.

Indicating a further dip in temperatures, the IMD said Mumbai is likely to witness minimum temperatures in the range of 14 -15 degrees Celsius until December 24 at least. Furthermore, the weather bureau forecast the possibility of fog and mist until Tuesday, in what is likely to impede visibility in the city. However, the cool spell is likely to pass after Christmas on December 25, following which minimum temperatures are projected to gradually soar over 18 degrees. For the record, Mumbai’s coldest temperature in December was recorded at 10.6 degrees Celsius in the year 1949.

While Mumbai was the coolest city of Konkan region on Monday, the coldest temperature across the state was logged in Ahmednagar where the minimum temperatures dipped to 7.3 degrees Celsius.

Meteorologists have attributed the ongoing dip in temperatures to the influx of dry, cold northerly winds from the northern pockets of the country.

Amid dipping temperatures, Mumbai’s air quality deteriorated from the satisfactory category on Sunday to 104 on Monday morning. Of the 18 active stations, the worst air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 127 in Sion, followed by 125 in Bandra Kurla Complex. As per the data furnished by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), PM10 and SO2 were among the most prominent pollutants on Monday.