Colder conditions prevailed in coastal areas, including Mumbai, and cold winds whipped into the interior of the state on Saturday morning when the meteorological bureau said Maharashtra was under control of the winter season. Cooler conditions in Mumbai also meant the city’s air quality worsened and fell into the poor category on Saturday.
The Santacruz meteorological observatory in Mumbai, representative of the suburbs, recorded a further drop in nighttime temperature on Saturday to 18.4 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Celsius below normal), the lowest temperature so far. season. It was 19 degrees Celsius on Friday and is expected to stay below the 20 degrees Celsius mark for the next two days, the meteorological office said.
The Colaba weather station, representative of southern Mumbai, recorded a temperature of 21.4 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal.
Even humidity levels showed a marginal decline from previous days, as the suburbs and southern Mumbai recorded 78% and 85% humidity on Saturday morning.
In other parts of the state, especially inland Maharashtra along Marathwada and Vidarbha, temperatures were much lower. Parbhani recorded the lowest temperature in the state with 8.8 degrees Celsius, followed by Gondia with 10.5 degrees Celsius. Nashik in northern Maharashtra recorded 11.1 degrees Celsius, while Pune recorded 11.5 degrees Celsius.
Also read: In 402, Delhi AQI again violates severe category
“The drop in minimum temperature indicates that the winter season is well advanced in Maharashtra, as the wind pattern (from north to northeast early in the morning and east during the day) is generating cold and dry winds in the areas interior and coastal areas of the state. The minimum temperature is likely to remain below the normal mark, ”said KS Hosalikar, deputy director general for the western region of the Indian Department of Meteorology.
Also read: Nighttime temperature in Chandigarh crosses the 10 degree mark
Meanwhile, the pollutant measurement indicator showed a rebound on Saturday when the air quality index (AQI) entered the poor category for the first time this month. According to the meteorological air quality research and prediction system (SAFAR), it was 225 (poor) for pollutants PM2.5. The AQI was 99 (satisfactory) on November 30, worsened to 118 (moderate) on Tuesday, and continued to rise to 176 (moderate) on Friday. Bandra Kurla Complex (316) has a very poor AQI. Colaba (276), Mazgaon (269), Chembur (283), Andheri (218) and Malad (300) all registered poor air. Worli (73) had the best AQI on Saturday.
The researchers said falling temperatures combined with calm winds had allowed pollution levels to rise. “Due to low ventilation, the AQI is likely to remain deficient for the next two days,” said Gufran Beig, SAFAR’s project manager. The AQI is forecast to be 211 (poor) on Sunday.
.
