Mumbai: The weather bureau has forecast light rains/thundershowers for Mumbai and Thane for April 21 and 22, while for parts of Raigad, thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, light to moderate rains and gusty winds are forecast.Experts, however, said that little relief can be expected from the ongoing heat, being summer season, even though there may be a temporary dip in temperatures where rainfall occurs, but then this could be short-lived, with temperatures likely rising again from around April 23 into the weekend. On Sunday, the day temperatures recorded by the IMD Colaba and Santacruz observatory were 33.9 degrees C and 34.8 degrees C, which was around normal in case of the IMD Colaba observatory and two degrees above normal in case of the Santacruz observatory.Minimum temperatures recorded by the IMD Colaba and Santacruz observatory were 24.5 degrees C and 24.1 degrees C, which was around one degree below normal in case of IMD Colaba and around normal in case of the Santacruz observatory. Relative humidity remained high, with the IMD Colaba and Santacruz observatory recording 83% and 66%, respectively.Independent weather forecaster Abhijit Modak said, “The next round of hit-or-miss thunderstorms is expected to commence across Maharashtra from April 18-19, mainly along the ghat sections. This activity is likely to spread further into Marathwada and Vidarbha early next week, driven by low-level wind convergence along with moisture support from an upper-level Western Disturbance trough. However, being in the peak summer phase, heat will continue to dominate next week as well. Along the coast, temperatures may rise to around 36-38°C on some days, depending on the timing of the sea breeze.”Meanwhile, air quality index (AQI) in the city on Sunday was at 89, which falls in the satisfactory range.
