Low pressure in Arabian Sea results in Mumbai's second coldest day in a decade

Mumbai, and nearby areas in north and central Maharashtra and south Gujarat received rains on Wednesday, owing to a low-pressure area in the Arabian Sea and a western disturbance, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Rain in November-December is not a usual feature in Maharashtra. However, a cyclonic circulation lies over the southeast and the east central Arabian Sea. The intensity will be decreased by December 2 as the system will head to central India, an IMD official stated.

Due to incessant but moderate rainfall throughout Wednesday, Mumbai recorded its second coldest day in a decade. Day temperature at the Santacruz observatory was recorded at 24.8° Celsius--8° Celsius below normal.

The city also recorded the second highest 24-hour December rain on the first day of the month. Santacruz observatory recorded 28.6 mm of rainfall till 5.30 pm on Wednesday. The IMD’s Colaba observatory, in the same nine-hour period, recorded 27.6 mm of rain.

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With a forecast of a partly cloudy sky with one or two spells of showers on Thursday, the day temperature is likely to rise to 29 degrees Celsius.

According to IMD, the lowest day temperature in December was recorded on December 6, 2017, at 23.3 degrees Celsius, when cyclone Ockhi passed by the Mumbai coast.

The last time Mumbai received heavy showers in December was also on December 6, 2017, when 53.8 mm of rainfall was recorded in 24 hours because of cyclone Ockhi.

In the last decade, the city has rarely received heavy rainfall in December. On December 5, 2019, 1.2 mm rain was recorded and on December 13, 2014, 1.5 mm rainfall was recorded, which fall in the light rainfall category.

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