Mumbaikars, brace for a hot 48 hours

A fisherwoman takes the cover of her friend’s saree to beat the heat at Sassoon Dock, Colaba, on Sunday. Pic/Shadab Khan

As rain took a break in the city, humidity and heat have taken over to keep Mumbaikars drenched throughout the day. Relief seems unlikely, with the weatherman predicting a few spells of passing showers over the next few days. In the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Sunday, the IMD Santacruz observatory recorded just 1.1 mm of rain, while the Colaba observatory recorded no rain. The maximum temperature could rise up to 32 degrees Celsius over the next 24 to 48 hours. Due to the intense rains, Mumbai's highest temperature dropped below 28 degrees or 29 degrees on the majority of days in July.

Also read: Mumbai News LIVE Updates: IMD predicts increasing temperatures on Monday, Tuesday

Youngsters use umbrellas to protect them from heat on a seafront, July 28. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

With little rain, the city's day and night temperatures rose after a brief drop at the beginning of July. On Sunday, the minimum temperatures recorded by the India Meteorological Department's Colaba and Santacruz observatories were 27 degrees and 26.2 degrees, respectively. While the maximum temperature was 31.6 degrees as recorded by the Colaba observatory, it was 31.8 degrees at the Santacruz weather station.

Mumbai and Thane will see moderate rainfall for the next two days, said IMD. "Due to the dense clouds that limit the quantity of sunshine entering the atmosphere, the city's temperature decreased on most days this month [July]," said an IMD official on Sunday. The official added, "The sunlight enters the atmosphere and is trapped by the clouds that are partly cloudy - there are no thick clouds or a clear sky. Mumbai is currently experiencing an increase in temperature as a result of this."

Meanwhile, there are chances of thundershowers in parts of Pune, Aurangabad and a few other districts of the state, meteorologists said. "Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada districts of Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, Ahmednagar, Nanded, Osmanabad, Beed, and Parbhani could get patchy rain or thundershowers but more chances of rain decreasing from Sunday," said Rajesh Kapadia of Vagaries of Weather, a popular weather blog.