While international weather observatories have already called '98 the warmest year of the century, and supercomputers at Britain's Hadley Centre for Climate Change have predicted a doomsday scenario for India due to global warming in the next century, the weatherman in Colaba is still unruffled.

``Winter will only descend on Mumbai late in December, but there's nothing unusual about the October and November heat as post-monsoon heat usually prevails over parts of Maharashtra,'' said the director of Colaba Weather Bureau.

But the man on the street isn't amused. Apart from facing blazing heat in the afternoons, people also have to deal with suddenthundershowers in the evenings and early mornings.

Such a blow-hot, blow-cold climate has also led to a spate of bronchio-respiratory disorders, including sneezing, wheezing, asthma, sore throat and the works.

``It rained heavily early on Wednesday morning at Goregaon, but the cool breeze remains for just a short time-span. By 9 am, I'm already sweating profusely,'' said a BEST driver, Ram Bhosale, blowing into his kerchief. Another Goregaon resident informed it was pouring this afternoon, while skies over Bandra were overcast and cloudy.

For the past few days it has also rained at Powai, Malad, Mira Road, Vasai, Nallasopara, Thane, Bhiwandi, Mumbra, Kalva and some other suburbs. ``A high humidity factor between 85 to 90 per cent, coupled with the high temperatures -- between 34 to 36 degrees Celsius -- overheats the land in the day, leading to cloud formation and thunder and lightning in the evenings,'' the weatherman said.

``Yet the heat is killing. It's tough wearing a fancy tie and travelling intrains in such an atmosphere. The government should ban ties and suits as formal wear in Mumbai,'' said an exasperated marketing executive, Vishal Arora, from Fort.

The only people who seem to have capitalised on the heat are the fancy department store owners. ``We are seeing a lot more people in our stores now, though most of them are only window shoppers trying to catch some cool air in our AC environs,'' said a salesman from a reputed department stores in Churchgate.