Unseasonal rainfall provides Mumbai a breath of fresh air, AQI jumps to 'satisfactory' category

Mumbai experienced unseasonal rainfall accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms on Sunday morning, providing unexpected relief from persistent poor air quality. The city and its suburbs remained cloudy with light showers in the evening, marking a welcome change in weather conditions.

The Colaba observatory recorded 9.2 mm of rainfall, while the Santacruz observatory documented 5.2 mm over the last 24 hours. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) attributed these rainfall activities to a trough forming on the Bay of Bengal coast, moving towards the Maharashtra coastline. Experts from the IMD anticipate the rain to persist throughout the state until Tuesday, positively impacting several coastal districts, including parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan region (MMR).

Post-monsoon, Mumbai has grappled with poor air quality, prompting discussions between the BMC and a Dubai-based firm for cloud seeding. However, the cool breeze on Sunday played a pivotal role in altering the city's air quality positively.

According to IMD experts, the city is unlikely to experience a significant drop in temperatures during the winter months, considering the presence of El Niño. Reports indicate that December is a transition month. So a fall in minimum temperatures is expected by the end of this month. The temperature has already dropped to 16 degrees in Marathwada, the central part of the state. However, when there will be a significant drop in temperature in Mumbai, we will send alerts. Currently, there is no large change.

On Monday morning, the city woke up to clear sunny skies, signalling a shift in weather patterns. The IMD predicts that the rain showers will continue until Tuesday, maintaining partially cloudy skies in the city and suburbs. The temperatures on Monday are expected to range between 22°C to 28°C.

The recorded temperature in Mumbai on Monday morning was 23.6°C with humidity at 90%. The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) reported that the AQI in Mumbai is currently in the 'satisfactory' category, with a reading of 60. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 is ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.

As the city experiences this unexpected weather event, residents hope for continued relief from poor air quality and the possibility of a more comfortable transition into the winter months.