Temperature drops 4.5 degrees, air improves

THE AIR QUALITY INDEX WAS RECORDED AT 183 (MODERATE), A SHARP DROP FROM THE ‘POOR’ AQI LEVELS ON TUESDAY

MUMBAI: The city has been witnessing fluctuating day temperatures for the past fortnight while air quality improved on Wednesday.

The suburbs witnessed a 4.5 degree Celsius drop in maximum temperature on Wednesday as Santacruz recorded 28.8 degrees Celsius (2.3 degree Celsius below normal) as compared to 33.3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday (2.2 degree Celsius above normal). Colaba recorded 29.2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, 0.7 degree Celsius below normal, against 31.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. The minimum temperature was similar to previous days. The weather bureau said the wind pattern changed from northwesterly winds to cool northerly winds through the day on Wednesday.

The air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 183 (moderate), a sharp drop from ‘poor’ AQI levels recorded on Tuesday at 209. After recording two days of ‘severe’ AQI, Mazgaon recorded ‘satisfactory’ AQI levels on Wednesday.

The day temperature in the suburbs dropped by 6.5 degrees Celsius over three days with 35.3 degrees Celsius recorded on Monday to 33.3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday to 28.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday owing to coastal conditions changing to cold northerly winds. On Tuesday, Mumbai was covered by a blanket of haze, owing to high moisture in the air and low wind speed, said researchers from the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). They added weather-related factors were responsible for the hazy conditions in the city.