Surprise rain and 4-degree mercury spike catch Mumbai off guard; AQI in ‘moderate’ category

IMD data showed that the Colaba coastal observatory recorded 0.1 mm of rainfall, while the Santacruz observatory logged no measurable rain following the morning spells.

Minimum temperatures, however, rose notably. Santacruz recorded a minimum of 22.6 degree Celsius Tuesday morning, which is five degrees above normalMumbai’s minimum temperature hovered around 18 degree Celsius Monday morning..

IMD scientists attributed the unseasonal showers to a western disturbance system.

“The showers were a result of a western disturbance which was dipping low. When a western disturbance is passing, and it is in the lower latitude, then it tends to bring in moisture from the Arabian Sea. If the western disturbance system had been even lower, then the intensity of the rains would have been even higher. But we had been expecting these very light spells of rain,” a senior IMD Mumbai scientist told The Indian Express.

Mumbai ushered in the New Year with a surprise bout of unseasonal rain lashing parts of the city, and its neighbouring districts on January 1. So far, the city’s Colaba station has recorded 9.3 mm of rainfall, and the Santacruz station has logged 6.7 mm. This marks an excess of 6-8 mm of rainfall above normal for the region.

Despite showers, air quality in Mumbai hovered in the “moderate” category, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 115 Tuesday morning.

Of Mumbai’s 23 active stations, seven pockets recorded “satisfactory” AQI readings below 100, while other parts of the city reported “moderate” levels. The worst air quality was recorded at Chakala in Andheri with an AQI of 166, while the best was in Mulund at 70.