Mumbai weather updates: City set for pleasant break from heatwave conditions

Byculla wore a gloomy look yesterday. Pic/Anurag Ahire

After days of sweltering heat, and rising discomfort, Mumbai woke up to an overcast sky on Thursday as dark clouds loomed large over several parts of the city. The city's weather, which had settled into a hot and humid pattern over the past few days, has once again shifted, this time, offering a temporary sigh of relief to residents.

Since early morning, large patches of dark clouds covered the skyline, occasionally giving way to brief glimpses of sunlight. This alternating mix of gloom and brightness made for a dramatic start to the day, while also moderating the day's heat. According to meteorologists, the cloud cover is expected to lower daytime temperatures to around 31 to 32 degrees Celsius. While humidity will remain high, the city will stay out of heatwave conditions for the next few days.

However, the weather will continue to be cloudy and gloomy, though no unseasonal rain is expected for now, meteorologists said.

Climate shift

Independent weather enthusiast Rushikesh Agre, known as Mumbai Rains on X, told mid-day, "Temperatures are down to 31 to 32 degrees Celsius due to the rise in cloud cover and high humidity. Chance of rain is low but Mumbai is out of heatwave conditions for now."

Rajesh Kapadia, climatologist

Over the past week, Mumbai had been experiencing hot, humid days with temperatures consistently touching 34 to 35 degrees Celsius and real-feel readings soaring even higher. Meanwhile, neighbouring Thane, Navi Mumbai, Palghar district continued to reel under a heatwave, with mercury levels peaking at 41 to 43 degrees Celsius. That extreme spell too is expected to ease slightly.

Meteorologists attribute this current shift to strengthening westerly winds from the Arabian Sea, which are expected to dominate the region for the next three to four days. "These winds are likely to bring increased humidity, especially during evenings and early mornings, keeping the weather cloudy and somewhat gloomy. However, no unseasonal rain is expected in Mumbai for now, though localised thunderstorm activity is possible in parts of the ghats," said climatologist Rajesh Kapadia of Vagaries of the Weather, a private weather blog.

While the high humidity continues to pose discomfort, the drop in peak temperatures and cloud-covered skies have brought a welcome, albeit brief, break from the intense summer heat, offering Mumbaikars a bit of both relief and restlessness. The daytime temperature recorded on April 10 at India Meteorological Department's Santacruz observatory was 33.8 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature recorded at Colaba observatory was 34.2 degrees Celsius, with relative humidity recorded at 80 per cent and 82 per cent at both observatories, respectively.