Monsoon arrives two days early in Mumbai; IMD issues red alert
MUMBAI The southwest monsoon arrived in Mumbai Wednesday morning, with most parts of the city receiving intense showers as early as 4am. According to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) automatic weather station in Santacruz, 59.6mm of rainfall was recorded in the 24 hours ending 8.30am on Wednesday, while Colaba reported 77mm of rainfall during that period. The city has so far received 185mm of cumulative rainfall in June.
“The southwest monsoon has come in two days earlier than usual this year, as predicted by the meteorology department. There will be intense rains in Mumbai for at least a period of three to four days now, during which the total reading is quite likely to exceed 300mm, or even 350mm,” said a spokesperson with the IMD’S regional forecasting centre in Mumbai.
The IMD also issued a red alert for Mumbai, Palghar, Thane and Raigad districts, predicting “thunderstorms accompanied with lightning/gusty winds and very heavy to extremely heavy rain at isolated places.it also issued an orange alert for various districts in the Konkan region, including Mumbai, for next four days, barring Raigad for which there is red alert for Thursday and orange alert for next three days.
“Heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places” predicted in the districts on Konkan belt during the orange alert days, the IMD said.it also issued an orange alert for Pune, Satara and Kolhapur districts in western Maharashtra on Saturday and Sunday, and for Bhandara, Gondia and Gadchiroli districts in the Vidharbha region on Sunday.the MET department had on Saturday confirmed the arrival of the southwest monsoon in Maharashtra as it reached Harnai in coastal Ratnagiri district.
Most localities reported rainfall between 40 to 70mm, while Navi Mumbai reportedly received more than 120mm of rain in the 24 hours ending Wednesday morning, as per data shared by the IMD. Belapur received nearly 150mm, the highest recorded in this time. Other areas that received over 70mm of rainfall include Mumbra, Kopar Khairane, Kandivalu, Ghansoli, Mohane, Panvel, Dahisar, Malwani, Naupada and Versova.
However, independent meteorologists have forecast that Mumbai may even see 450 to 600mm of rainfall accumulated in some places during the next four days.
“Mumbai and areas are receiving widespread heavy rains. There are dense cloud formations visible above Mumbai and Thane at the moment, and in fact all along the coast. Heavy rainfall warnings have been issued for all west coast districts,” said KS Hosalikar, senior scientist at the IMD in Pune. Thunderstorms were also reported in various parts of the city.