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Mumbai woke up to its coldest November day in over a decade on Sunday morning as the minimum temperature dipped to 15.7 degrees Celsius in the suburbs, marking a drop of six degrees in a single day. This is the first time in at least 11 years that minimum temperatures have dipped below 16 degrees Celsius in the city in November.
Data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed that on Sunday morning, while the Colaba observatory recorded 20.5 degrees Celsius, the Santacruz observatory in the suburbs clocked in 15.7 degrees Celsius, which is 4.4 degrees below normal. A day prior, the Santacruz observatory logged a significantly higher minimum temperature of 21.8 degrees Celsius.
Mumbai has not recorded temperatures below 16 degrees Celsius in over a decade. The drop in temperature came close on the heels of the Santacruz observatory shattering the record for coldest November day in a decade, registering 16.2 degrees Celsius on November 19.
In what has been an unusually cold November, the city also logged its lowest daytime temperature for November in a decade when the maximum temperatures dropped to 27 degrees Celsius in the island city division and 29 degrees Celsius in Mumbai’s suburbs. The dip in temperatures, early in November, was spurred by unseasonal showers between November 1 and November 3—making it the city’s wettest November in six years.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a weather expert attributed the cold spell to north easterly winds.
“While there is no strong western disturbance, the winds are predominantly north easterly. These northeasterly winds have brought down temperatures in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. So the cold and dry winds are coming in from the north, which has effectively led to a drop in temperatures in Mumbai. This drop was also felt across North Konkan and central Maharashtra, with several parts recording below normal temperatures,” said Mahesh Palawat from Skymet Weather Services.
On Sunday, the lowest minimum temperature in Maharashtra was recorded at Jeur in Solapur district at 8 degrees Celsius, which is four degrees below normal.
According to Palawat, the ongoing spell of below-normal temperatures is brief, with temperatures likely to spike in the coming days. “Another western disturbance is expected in the first week of December, which can lead to another drop in temperatures in Mumbai around December 10-11,” he added.
In its forecast bulletin, the IMD has stated that Mumbai’s minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 15 degrees Celsius for the next 48 hours, while the maximum temperatures may soar up to 31 degrees Celsius.
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