Temperatures in May hover around normal,dip too

Despite being well into May,temperatures in the city continue to be below normal with Colaba recording 32.7 degrees and Santacruz recording 33 degrees on Wednesday.

After a hot spell in the end of April,maximum temperatures in the city have been around normal. Even during the first week of May — considered one of the hottest summer months — temperatures have only been around 33 degrees in the suburbs and 32 degrees in the city. In fact,temperatures on Wednesday were a tad below the normal at 33.3 degrees for both Colaba and Santacruz,while the minimum temperatures were 27.6 degrees and 27.4 degrees respectively. The relative humidity at 5.30 pm was 76 per cent for Colaba and 63 per cent for Santacruz.

The Met department has attributed this to high humidity levels in the city. “The seasonal wind over Mumbai is westerly,which brings moisture from the sea. We have observed moisture of between 60 to 90 per cent in the last few days. Since humidity controls maximum temperatures,the temperatures are not rising,” said Bishwombhar Singh,Director,India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Weathermen expect little change in temperatures over the next two days with the maximum and minimum temperatures being around 33 degrees and 27 degrees respectively. “If it changes,it will change only by a degree or so,” Singh added.