After a chilly start, Mumbai goes back to being ‘Mumbai’ as temperature rises to 36 degrees
Representational Image. Courtesy: odishasamaya.com
January may have started on a chilly note for Mumbai, but the weather has taken a quick u-turn since then as day time temperature rose to 36 degrees Celsius on Monday.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)’s Santacruz observatory recorded a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius on Monday, 5.4 degrees Celsius above normal. The Colaba observatory, meanwhile, recorded a temperature of 35.7 degrees, 6.2 degrees Celsius above normal.
At 36 degrees Celsius, January 23 was the second warmest day in January since 2010.
The all-time highest temperature for Mumbai was recorded on January 16, 2006 when the mercury level rose to 37.4 degrees Celsius.
Fortunately, there was some respite from the scorching heat at night, as temperatures fell to 18.4 and 21.5 degrees Celsius at Santacruz and Colaba respectively.
The lowest temperature for the month was recorded on January 11, when the levels dropped to 11.9 degrees Celsius.
According to IMD, the rise in mercury levels can be attributed to the higher wind temperature. At the start of the month, the wind was blowing from the north, which had brought the temperature down. Now, the city is receiving winds from the east, which are warmer.
IMD officials have forecast that temperatures would remain high in the next 48 hours. However, the levels will drop by around 3-4 degrees Celsius by the end of the month.
Meanwhile, research indicates that the global rise in temperature will also have a significant impact on Mumbai, with the city losing half of its mild weather days by the year 2100.
