Mumbai experienced its coldest morning of the winter season as the minimum temperature dipped to 18.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, accompanied by smog causing low visibility in various areas. This drop marked the lowest recorded temperature this season, surpassing the previous low of 19.8 degrees Celsius noted just a day earlier at the India Meteorological Department’s Santacruz observatory. The most substantial temperature decline before this was on December 26 of the previous month when the Santacruz observatory recorded 18.7 degrees Celsius.
The Santacruz observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 18.4 degrees Celsius, just one degree above the normal range, while the Colaba observatory registered 20.8 degrees Celsius, which was two degrees above the normal range.
Sushma Nair, a scientist at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), attributed the slight temperature drop to lower-level northerly winds along the coast. She noted, “Due to the absence of strong western disturbances during this period, there has been no significant dip in temperatures this season. The few western disturbances witnessed have been very feeble too.”
Despite the chilly mornings, daytime temperatures remained relatively mild, hovering around 30 degrees Celsius. The Colaba and Santacruz observatories recorded day temperatures of 28.2 and 30.9 degrees Celsius, respectively.
The winter season in Mumbai typically spans from December to February, with November serving as the transition month. However, this year’s November differed from the previous one, experiencing unseasonal rains totaling 39.5mm and 8.2mm at the IMD’s Colaba and Santacruz observatories, respectively, compared to no recorded rainfall in November 2022.