CITY SWEATS OUT AT 37°C; AQI STILL IN POOR CATEGORY

MUMBAI: The city on Saturday recorded a maximum temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, which is four degrees above normal, in Santacruz – the base weather station for Mumbai.

Minimum temperatures were also higher than normal for Saturday with 22.6 degrees Celsius (3 degrees above normal) in the suburbs, while it was higher at 23.7 degrees Celsius ( 2 degrees above normal) in south Mumbai.

Though the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted light rain and thundershowers in parts of the state, hot and dry winds swept over the city.

Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) continued to be in the ‘poor’ category on Saturday. As per the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily bulletin, Mumbai’s AQI stood at 262 (poor). As per the System of Air Quality Research and Forecasting (SAFAR), the city’s AQI stood at 286 (poor).

“There will be abrupt, random fluctuations in the wind speed, and when there is a sudden slowdown as was the case on Friday, there will be abrupt spikes in pollution levels as well. This will continue till April-end,” said Gufran Beig, founder-director of SAFAR and a scientist with the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS). “The buffer system of coastal winds which used to clean up the air is breaking down due to an increase in polluting activities within the city. The coastal influence may also be diminishing because of changes in Mumbai’s skyline.”

KS Hosalikar, head, IMD-Pune attributed the high temperature to “easterly winds over the (Konkan) region”.