3 days Ago By Neha Madaan
Pune: Citizens woke up to an unusual nip in the air on Monday with minimum temperature in Shivajinagar dropping to 18.7°C, making it the coolest Sept early morning for the city in the last five years. On Sept 9, 2018, Shivajinagar had recorded a minimum temperature of 17.
5°C. Other parts of Pune experienced even cooler conditions on Monday, with NDA recording a minimum temperature of 17.6°C and Haveli at 17.
1°C. On Sunday night, parts of the Konkan region also reported the season's first fog, reducing visibility to under 500 metres in some areas. Independent weather forecaster Abhijit Modak told TOI, "Dry air incursion has led to clear blue skies in the morning.
Clear skies allow more heat to escape at night, causing ground-level temperatures to drop significantly." Modak said these conditions were ideal for fog formation . "Typically, ground fog is common when skies are clear.
It's caused by a temperature inversion that occurs when the ground cools rapidly at night. The moist air near the ground then cools to its dew point, forming fog," he said. Modak said, "Although we are currently in the monsoon season, Sept marks the transition towards the post-monsoon period, which officially begins in Oct.
Recently, the westerly winds have weakened, resulting in calm and clear skies. This change facilitates the rapid escape of longwave radiation from the surface into the atmosphere during nighttime, leading to a decrease in minimum temperature. This phenomenon is particularly noticeable in the Deccan Plateau owing to its higher elevation.
It is a typical characteristic of regions on the leeward side of the Western Ghats." He said in Konkan, high humidity can lead to the formation of ground fog or haze. "However, this fog tends to stabilise minimum temperature, preventing it from dropping further.
This is a common feature of areas situated on the windward side of the Western Ghats," Modak said. He said the drop in minimum temperature and fog conditions had been primarily observed in Konkan, the Western Ghats, and western parts of the Deccan Plateau, with less impact in Marathwada and Vidarbha. "Cities like Nashik, Pune, Satara, and Kolhapur have recently experienced a decline in nighttime temperature, particularly those closer to the Western Ghats.
Fog has also been reported in Badlapur, Ambernath, Thane and Panvel," Modak said. IMD scientist SD Sanap said, "Konkan experiences high humidity. However, this has not translated into significant rainfall, which contributes to fog formation.
In parts of Madhya Maharashtra, cloudy conditions cleared on Sunday night, resulting in lower minimum temperatures." Sanap said cloudfree skies enable the escape of longwave radiation from the earth's surface into space. "When clouds are present, they act as an insulating layer that traps heat close to the surface.
In contrast, clear skies allow for this radiation to escape more freely during nighttime hours," he said. On Sept 12, Shivajinagar had recorded a minimum temperature of 21.2°C, which dropped to 19.
9°C on Sept 13 and further to 19.2°C on Sept 14. The temperature then rose slightly to 20.
9°C on Sept 15 before falling again to 18.7°C on Monday. In Nashik, minimum temperature stood at 21.
8°C on Sept 12; 19.7°C on Sept 13; 19.1°C on Sept 14; 19.
2°C on Sept 15 and 20.7°C on Sept 16 (Monday). GRAPHIC SEPT TREND OVER FIVE YEARS 2019: 19°C (Sept 29) 2020: 18.
9°C (Sept 27) 2021: 19.5°C (Sept 18) 2022: 19.6°C (Sept 24) 2023: 20.
6°C (Sept 5) 2024: 18.7°C (Sept 16).
