Mumbai on Monday morning witnessed moderate to heavy rain accompanied by thunder, bringing relief from the hot and humid weather. These heavy rains in the city come with the late start of monsoon rains in Maharashtra.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast increased rainfall activity from Monday and said the southwest monsoon is likely to reach Mumbai by June 23.
Civic officials said that some areas of Mumbai recorded heavy rainfall in just one hour. The city began to see rain on Sunday, with overcast skies and a cool breeze making for a pleasant morning across the city.
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Officials were quoted as saying that the rain that fell on Monday morning led to reduced visibility, affecting traffic in some locations.
IMD forecasts
The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Mumbai, Thane and Raigad for the next three days, predicting moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 km per hour.
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While the southwest monsoon generally arrives in Mumbai around June 10, its onset this year was delayed. The monsoon advanced into South Konkan earlier this month, but its advance was halted due to unfavorable weather conditions.
BMC issues orange alert
Citing an IMD weather alert, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday issued an orange alert for Mumbai, predicting thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and moderate to severe spells of rain. In addition, the center expected wind speeds to reach 30-40 kilometers per hour in isolated places during the next three hours.
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It advised residents to take necessary precautions during thunderstorms and heavy rain spells, while several parts of Mumbai, including Bandra East, witnessed pre-monsoon rains accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms on Monday morning. The rain caused waterlogging and traffic disruption in some areas.
The island city recorded an average rainfall of 17mm between 6am and 7am. The western suburbs received 10 mm, and the eastern suburbs did not record any appreciable rainfall during the period, according to data released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Savitribai Phule BMC School at Worli Naka in the island city recorded 61 mm of rainfall in one hour, followed by G-South (Prabhadevi) ward at 58 mm, Adarsh Nagar School in Worli and Malbar Hill at 44 mm each, Worli Fire Station at 42 mm and F-South (Parel) ward at 41 mm.
In the western suburbs, Pali Chimbai School and Supari Tank BMC School, both in Bandra, recorded rainfall of 70 mm each. The H-West (Khar) ward office received 30 mm of rain, followed by Bandra fire station at 28 mm and Banana Leaf and Juhu dispensary at 25 mm, the civic body said.
