With the city experiencing a surge in rain, the IMD issued a yellow alert for Mumbai and its neighbouring districts of Thane and Raigad for the next 24 hours, on Saturday afternoon
After weeks of lull, Mumbai city and its suburbs experienced intense spells of moderate showers commencing in the wee hours of Saturday, with the city recording the highest August rain this year.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, the Santacruz weather station recorded 44.6 mm of rain whereas the Colaba coastal observatory received 10.2 mm rain between Friday and Saturday morning. Meanwhile, on Saturday until 5.30 pm, the Santacruz observatory received 16 mm showers and the Colaba observatory registered 15.6 mm downpour.
With the city experiencing a surge in rain, the IMD issued a yellow alert for Mumbai and its neighbouring districts of Thane and Raigad for the next 24 hours, on Saturday afternoon. In its alert, the weather bureau stated that the districts will experience heavy rain in isolated pockets.
Even as the IMD sounded a yellow alert, officials maintained that the city is slated to experience only moderate showers. Speaking to The Indian Express, Sushma Nair, scientist from IMD Mumbai said, “Currently, the westerlies are bringing in the moisture and hence the city is receiving more intense rain. However, there is no synoptic situation which means that the rains will only be moderate.”
Following a dry day, the intensity of rainfall picked up with spells of moderate rain sweeping the city and its neighbouring districts in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.
The data furnished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) showed that in the past 24 hours ending Saturday morning, the eastern suburbs received over 41.6 mm rain followed by the western suburbs where 31.83 mm rain was registered. The island city division recorded 28.45 mm rain.
Addressing the increased rain activity, meteorologists and experts told Express that the intense spell is unlikely to prevail for longer than 48 hours. Mahesh Palawat from Skymet Weather Services said, “A monsoon surge has activated over the West Coast which is bringing rains from the North Konkan region to the north coast of Maharashtra. We expect moderate rain and pleasant weather over the course of the next 24 – 48 hours.”
“After 2 – 3 days, however, the weather conditions will once again be dry,” added Palawat.
Meanwhile, with the water stock in the seven lakes that supply water to the city touching 86.48 per cent of the total capacity on Saturday morning, the lake levels registered a marginal rise. While last year, on the same date, the water stock stood at 97.2 per cent, in 2021, the levels touched 88.18 per cent during the same period.
Source : The Indian Express
