Mercury to dip further in next few days: IMD

Since then,the minimum temperatures have been falling gradually everyday,with Sunday recording 21.4°C at Colaba,a notch above its normal of 21 degrees,and 17.5°C at Santacruz,a tad below its normal of 18 degrees.

“A western disturbance now lies over north Pakistan and adjoining areas. This is affecting the extreme northern parts of our country. Since the movement of air mass is from north to south,it gives cold air to our region and has led to a drop in minimum temperatures,” said Ajay Kumar,meteorologist,Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Asked about the sharp fluctuations in minimum temperatures last week,Kumar said,“Occasionally,when an air mass comes from the Arabian Sea,there is a rise in night-time temperatures.”

Weather officials expect a further dip in minimum temperatures over the next few days. “We are expecting a decrease of one or two degrees in the next three to four days,” said Kumar.

However,maximum temperatures continued to be above normal with Colaba recording 33.2 degrees on Sunday,as compared to its normal of 31 degrees,while Santacruz recorded 34.3 degrees,above its normal of 32 degrees. Weather officials said that a departure of two degrees from normal is not unusual.