Panaji: Goans woke up to markedly colder mornings this week with the mercury dropping several degrees below the December normal.
Panaji and Mormugao, in particular, saw a sharp decline over the past four days.
On Wednesday, Panaji recorded a minimum temperature of 19.4°C, 1.4°C below the average normal minimum for the month, which is 20.8°C. The record for the lowest minimum temperature was claimed by Mormugao, which recorded 19°C, 3.3°C below the normal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the chill is due to the prevalence of north-easterly winds in the lower levels of the atmosphere over the Goan region.
The temperature in Panaji dropped steadily, moving from 21.8°C on December 7 to 21.6°C on December 8, followed by 20°C on December 9, before settling at 19.4°C on December 10.
Historical data from IMD’s extreme weather events table shows that early-winter minimum temperatures around 19°C are not unprecedented but remain uncommon.
Similar lows were observed in December 2021, when Panaji touched 18.4°C on December 19, and in 2016, when temperatures cooled to 17.6°C on December 24.
Similarly, in 2015, the lowest minimum recorded was 19.8°C (on the 29th).
The all-time lowest minimum temperature in December was recorded in 1965 at 15.1°C (on December 12).
IMD forecast for the next 48 hours suggests a reversal of this trend, predicting a rise in minimum temperatures of two to three degrees above normal.
