Even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced the withdrawal of monsoon from Mumbai earlier this week, October weather has recorded fluctuations in temperature, swinging from unusually low to unusually hot.

October is typically considered as the hottest month in Mumbai, when the post-monsoon humidity and changing wind directions push the normal temperatures above the summer normals.

This year, however, the mercury has not yet settled. Though there was a bout of incessant rain in the beginning of October, Mumbai recorded an unusually low maximum temperature —26.7°C in Colaba and 27°C in Santacruz— on October 5. According to the IMD, the dip in mercury was due to a low pressure system formed over Andhra Pradesh.

Recently, as the monsoon receded from the city, Mumbaikars experienced the hottest weather in this decade—Colaba recorded 34.4°C and Santacruz 35.6°C—on Monday.

On October 7, 2002, Colaba had recorded 33°C and Santacruz’s highest-ever was a mere 31.8°C, twice in 2003 and 2005.

K Sathidevi, director of IMD, Mumbai, said, “The city experienced a high temperature on Monday owing to a clear sky condition and the north-easterly direction of the wind. However, by Tuesday, a light cyclonic circulation over Karnataka brought clouds over the city, bringing the temperature down.” At 8.30 am on Wednesday, the IMD recorded a maximum temperature of 29.4°C in Colaba and 32°C in Santacruz. The normal temperature during the summer is 33°C, she said.

“The south-west monsoon began its delayed retreat from the north on September 25. It got further delayed due to an active low pressure down south and this caused heavy rain in several parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Orissa. Finally, the system subsided last week. The south-west monsoon currents have now crossed Mumbai and lies across Alibaug and Ahmednagar,” said Sathidevi. She added that monsoon was still active in parts of north Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra.