Pune city and neighbourhood areas witnessed severe cold day conditions along with haze, windy and cloudy sky conditions. The city was shrouded by a dust storm that hit parts of northwestern Maharashtra and Gujarat on Sunday. Pune's Air Quality Index value was 96 on the day. Mumbai and north Konkan districts also reported poor visibility, windy and cold conditions on Sunday. This is for the second consecutive day when strong dust-raising winds — originating in the Middle East — have reached India. On Saturday evening, visibility over Kutch, Saurashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan was severely affected. This sudden change in weather resulted in maximum temperatures across north Konkan and north Madhya Maharashtra dropping, making it a cold day. Mahabaleshwar's maximum temperature was 18.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 8.3 degrees below normal. Likewise, Pune recorded 24.3 degrees Celsius, 6.1 degrees below normal. IMD officials said Mumbai's maximum temperatures reported the steepest fall in a decade in January. The Santacruz observatory recorded 23.8 degrees Celsius (5.8 degrees below normal) and Colaba observatory recorded 24 degrees Celsius (6.9 degrees below normal) on Sunday. In the week ahead, minimum temperatures will continue to fall but no cold day conditions will prevail, IMD officials said.
