Cyclone Mandous: Unseasonal rains in Maharashtra, Mumbai sees poor AQI
What's the story
Several areas in Maharashtra experienced unseasonal showers on Monday as the mercury dipped below the normal mark. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed, Satara, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and Kolhapur districts for the next two days. Meanwhile, southern India is likely to receive rains till Thursday owing to remnants of Cyclone Mandous, said the IMD.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Cyclone Mandous made landfall in Tamil Nadu on Friday, with a reported wind speed of 75km/h. The cyclonic storm was named "Mandous" by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an associate of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), meaning "treasure box" in Arabic. As per IMD, three states were on red alert for the cyclone, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Puducherry (Union Territory).
Details
Pune's minimum temperature rose, Mumbai's dipped
The Pune district saw sporadic light rainfall on Sunday evening. Moreover, moisture incursion reportedly raised Pune city's minimum temperature as the IMD's Shivajinagar observatory on Sunday recorded 12.3 °C against Saturday's 8.9 °C. On the other hand, Mumbai's minimum temperature fell as IMD's Santacruz observatory recorded 18 °C, which was a notch below normal. Colaba's temperature was recorded at 21 °C.
Twitter Post
Fisherfolk advised not to venture into the sea
and decrease in rainfall activity over the region thereafter.
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) December 12, 2022
Fishermen are advised not to venture into southeast & adjoining eastcentral Arabian Sea and along & off Kerala-Karnataka coast and Lakshadweep area on 12th & 13th December, 2022. pic.twitter.com/zMyyu4HFmP
AQI
Mumbai's AQI in 'poor' category
The air quality index (AQI) of Mumbai stood in the "poor" category on Sunday. However, it was better than last week when Mumbai's AQI crossed 300, reaching the "very poor" level, according to the System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR). Meanwhile, Delhi's minimum temperature was recorded at 8.8 °C on Sunday, while its AQI was measured at 329 (very poor).
Weather
Peninsular region to continue to experience isolated heavy rainfall
Following Mandous's landfall near Mamallapuram, numerous parts of Chennai experienced heavy downpours. Strong cyclonic winds uprooted hundreds of trees as Mandous weakened into a deep depression over Tamil Nadu's northern coast. Meanwhile, the southern peninsular region will continue to experience isolated heavy rainfall over the next 24 hours. A low-pressure area could likely form over the southeast and adjoining east-central Arabian Sea around Tuesday.