November 2020 third warmest in over 10 years for Mumbai

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), this year, November was the third warmest in the city, in over a decade. Cooler conditions are expected in Mumbai from the third week of December.

KS Hosalikar, deputy director-general, IMD, said, “Minimum temperatures this November did not show any declining trend. The trend has been similar over the past three to four years. However, the maximum temperatures during November exhibited a very good decreasing trend in south Mumbai and the suburbs. As per climate models, temperatures in Mumbai are expected to drop from the second fortnight of December.”

The Santacruz weather observatory, representative of the suburbs and Mumbai, recorded minimum temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius only twice in November (19.2 degrees Celsius on November 10; 19.7 degrees Celsius on November 7). For the rest of the month, the minimum ranged between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius, making it the third warmest November since 2009. The highest maximum temperature this year for the season was 36 degrees Celsius on November 15 and 17.

The all-time highest day temperature for November was 37.6 degrees Celsius on November 4, 2018. This year, the temperature in November equalled the lowest minimum recorded in 2018 (19.2 degrees Celsius). The warmest November since 2009 was last year, when minimum temperatures remained at or above 20 degrees Celsius all month.

From 2009 to 2020, lowest minimum temperatures have hovered between 14 and 19 degrees Celsius. The all-time coldest November day was on November 19, 1950 when the minimum dropped to 13.3 degrees Celsius.

At the Colaba weather observatory, representative of the south Mumbai, the highest maximum temperature was 35 degrees Celsius on November 14 and the lowest minimum temperature did not drop below 22 degrees Celsius (on November 11).

On Monday, the minimum temperature recorded at Santacruz was 22.2 degree Celsius, which is 2.3 degrees above normal. At Colaba, the minimum temperature stood at 23.5 degrees Celsius, which is 1.5 degrees above normal. The maximum temperature was at the normal mark in south Mumbai (33.2 degrees Celsius) and 1 degree Celsius above normal in the suburbs (34.6 degrees Celsius). Humidity levels were 90% in south Mumbai and 73% in the suburbs.

Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) was at 99, falling under the satisfactory category, according to the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). None of the 10 locations in Mumbai were in the poor category. Worli had the cleanest air with the AQI at 43 (good). An AQI of 97 (satisfactory) has been predicted for today.