By: Express News ServiceNovember 16, 2025 04:46 PM IST 2 min readEven as the city is in the midst of a cold spell, IMD officials said that winter is yet to set in, with the season likely to commence in January. (Express Photo)Mumbai woke up to a nip in the air Sunday as the temperatures dipped three degrees below normal to 17.8 degrees Celsius, making it the season’s lowest temperature so far. While the minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 16 degrees Celsius over the next 48 hours, senior officials from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that temperatures are expected to return to normal in the coming week.Data procured from the IMD showed that between 5.30 pm on Saturday and 8.30 am on Sunday, the lowest temperatures at the Santacruz observatory in the suburbs were recorded at 17.8 degrees Celsius, which is 3.8 degrees below the normal.Meanwhile, the Colaba coastal observatory recorded minimum temperatures of 22.3 degrees Celsius during the same period. Even as the city is in the midst of a cold spell, IMD officials said that winter is yet to set in, with the season likely to commence in January.Bikram Singh, director of IMD Mumbai, attributed the ongoing spell of below normal temperatures to the northerly component in the winds. “At present, northwesterly winds are present, owing to which temperatures have dropped. Currently, temperatures in the northern states are low, owing to which colder winds are coming in from the north, resulting in the drop of temperatures in central and peninsular regions of the country.”“This is a typical phenomenon observed during the period, and if sometimes, westerly and easterly winds come in, the temperatures will rise. After three to four days, we are expecting the temperatures to go back to normal,” said Singh.The current dip in temperatures comes on the heels of the city recording its coldest November daytime temperature in at least the past decade on November 2. However, the IMD director attributed the drop in temperatures during the first week of the month to unseasonal showers that swept the region.Even as the drop in temperatures has ushered in respite from the heat, it has spurred a spike in the air quality index. On Sunday, the city recorded an overall air quality index (AQI) of 159, with the worst air quality in BKC, where the AQI breached the red ‘very poor’ category at 323.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:IMDIMD Mumbai