Chill in the air in many parts of Maharashtra like in Mumbai and Nashik is likely to continue for some time, says the Met office.The forecast comes at a time when a fortnight-long cold spell has seen mercury levels plummet to below normal in many parts of Maharashtra, with the northerly winds bringing in a cold wave. While Nashik, at 6.2 degree Celsius, five degrees below normal, was the coldest metro in the state, Mumbai witnessed a dip of seven degree Celsius below normal at 13.4 degree Celsius. Pune saw only a minor dip at 8.4 degree Celsius.Deputy Director General of India Meteorological Department (IMD) AB Mazumdar said there had been two western disturbances in the last one week, affecting the flow of wind pattern. It caused some snowfall and rain in north India, bringing in a dip in mercury levels. "There is another disturbance expected in a week's time which will see the continuance of the cold spell in the region," he said.Even Mumbai, which largely remains unaffected this season because of its proximity to sea, has been affected and seen mercury levels dip to 13.4 degree Celsius on Wednesday, the coldest it's got in the last two weeks. Since the weather started playing truant on January 23, the maha metro's weather has been 6-7 degrees below the normal 20 degree celsius.Director, Weather Central, IMD, Medha Khole said though in November and December the minimum temperatures in Pune were above normal, the cold spell was persistent between November 16-27. On November 23, the minimum temperature dipped to 8.3 degree Celsius with the normal mean temperature during the month being 12 degree Celsius.Later, there was a prolonged spell of above normal temperatures recorded from November 28 to January 22 with just one or two fluctuations in the temperature. However, from January 23 to February 5, the temperatures have been largely below normal with January 27 recording the lowest since 2005, at 5.8 degree Celsius. "Only on February 5, there was a slight increase, with the minimum temperature rising to 15.3 degree Celsius," she said. Meanwhile, the coldest city in the state during the fortnight was Nashik, which recorded 4.4 degree Celsius on January 27.
