Mumbai: 'Winter' ends in city as heat crawls up; IMD says temperature likely to go above 36°C in the next 2 days

Mumbai: Signs that winter may have come to an end were evident in Mumbai, with residents experiencing a warm and dry Thursday as the maximum temperature in the city went above 34 degrees Celsius and humidity levels stayed below 50%.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that the maximum temperature will go above 36 degrees Celsius, along with clear skies for the city in the next two days.

Maximum temperature reaches close to 35 degrees in city

The minimum temperature in Santacruz on Thursday was 24.8 degrees Celsius and the maximum 34.8 degrees Celsius, with 44% relative humidity, according to IMD. Colaba experienced a minimum temperature of 22.5 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 33.2 degrees Celsius, with 55% relative humidity.

The minimum temperature at some places in the city, at 24°C, was about six degrees above normal of around 18°C. "There are two main factors behind the city experiencing a hot day. These are a rise in the minimum and maximum temperatures and the drop in the humidity levels. Mumbai is a humid city and when there is less humidity along with high temperature, we experience a hot and sunny day, which is usually not expected in the winter season," said IMD official Sushma Nair.

"As we have easterly winds blowing currently (that do not carry rain or moisture), it results in humidity levels going down. At least for the next five days we do not see any drastic drop in temperature," said the official.

AQI remained poor

Meanwhile, the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city remained in the 'poor' category, with a reading of 273. According to the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the air quality of Mumbai is predicted to remain in the 'poor' category for the next two days.