Minimum temperature at Santacruz fell more than 5 degrees in 24 hours, being about 7 degrees below the normal of 16 degrees, while Colaba recorded a temperature of 14.2 degrees, almost 6 degrees below its normal of 20 degrees. Day temperatures also fell, with the maximum temperature in Colaba being 26.5, below its normal of 29 degrees, while Santacruz recorded 28 degrees, below its normal of 31 degrees.

“Looking at last week, I had thought the summer has started. I wasn’t prepared for this cold,” said Anuradha Mudholkar, a resident of Kharghar. “It’s too cold for Mumbai standards.”

Sonal Gawand, a Tilak Nagar resident, said she had developed a cold last week when the mercury suddenly rose. “Now the sudden drop in temperature has worsened my health,” said Gawand, who took a sick leave on Thursday.

The Met department attributed this fall to a western disturbance in the north and strong chilly winds. “Thursday’s temperature is the lowest in four years. Since there is a western disturbance in the north and the winds in the city are northerly, the cold conditions from those areas are reaching this region and have led to a fall in temperature. The winds being especially strong have added to the chill in the air,” said V K Rajeev, director of weather forecast at the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Before Thursday, the coldest day of the season was January 10, when the temperature was 10 degrees. Thursday was the second coldest February day in the last decade after February 8, 2008, when the temperature had fallen to 8.5 degrees. Incidentally, February 8, 2008, also holds the record for being the coldest February day ever recorded.

The lowest temperature ever recorded in Mumbai was on January 29, 1962, at 7.4 degrees.