Despite temperatures dipping below 20 degrees Celsius in the past week, Mumbai has witnessed a notable increase of 3-4 degrees in minimum temperatures since Monday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts a decline in temperature after December 25. On Tuesday, minimum temperatures at the Santa Cruz recording station reached 23.7 degrees, a departure of six degrees above normal, while Colaba observed a minimum temperature of 19.4 degrees Celsius. IMD attributes the rise to a distant cyclonic circulation in the Arabian Sea, anticipating a decrease in temperature after December 25 due to western disturbances and northerlies. Until then, minimum temperatures are expected to range between 21-22 degrees, according to Sunil Kamble, director of IMD Mumbai. Mahesh Palawat from Skymet Weather Services links the temperature surge to a trough over North Konkan, and the higher temperatures are expected to persist until northerlies set in. IMD scientists note that winter usually arrives by December 15, but last year, high temperatures lingered around 35 degrees Celsius even in the last week of December. On Tuesday, maximum temperatures in Mumbai’s suburbs and island city divisions hovered around 32 degrees Celsius, according to IMD figures.
