Monsoon showers continued to elude Mumbai on Tuesday morning, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) downgrading its yellow alert for the city to a forecast of moderate showers in the afternoon.
However, scientists maintained that the very heavy downpour typical of the Mumbai monsoon is unlikely to sweep the city.
For Raigad district, meanwhile, an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall has been issued for Thursday and Friday.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Sushma Nair, director of IMD, Mumbai, said, “The city is not receiving heavy showers as there is not much strength in the westerlies.
AdvertisementNair indicated that Mumbai is unlikely to experience “very heavy” rain over the next few days.
Monsoon showers continued to elude Mumbai on Tuesday morning, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) downgrading its yellow alert for the city to a forecast of moderate showers in the afternoon.
In a fresh forecast bulletin, the IMD has indicated that isolated pockets of the city and its neighbouring districts are slated to witness heavy rainfall between Wednesday and Thursday. However, scientists maintained that the very heavy downpour typical of the Mumbai monsoon is unlikely to sweep the city.
Despite the yellow alert which had been in place since June 23, Mumbai woke up to dry skies on Tuesday morning, with the Santacruz station registering 0.2 mm rain and the Colaba coastal observatory recording no rainfall at all in the past 24 hours ending 8.30 am.
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However, a fresh yellow alert has been sounded for Mumbai as well as Thane, starting on Wednesday, stating that isolated pockets of the districts may experience heavy showers at least until Thursday. For Raigad district, meanwhile, an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall has been issued for Thursday and Friday.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Sushma Nair, director of IMD, Mumbai, said, “The city is not receiving heavy showers as there is not much strength in the westerlies. Furthermore, there was a change in the wind directions and weather systems, owing to which the alert was downgraded on Tuesday.”
Mumbai is reeling under a shortfall of nearly 50 per cent in its quota of June rain. While the city receives an average of 550 mm rainfall in June, the Santacruz observatory has recorded 200 mm rain so far, since the onset of the monsoon on June 9.
According to the IMD data, while suburban Mumbai recorded a negative departure of 47 per cent, the rainfall in the Mumbai city division was deficient by 40 per cent. Rainfall in Thane was deficient by 39 per cent, followed by Raigad, where 35 per cent rain deficiency was observed until Tuesday.
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Nair indicated that Mumbai is unlikely to experience “very heavy” rain over the next few days. “Over the next few days, the city may experience intermittent spells of rain. However, the heavy downpour which is typically associated with Mumbai monsoons is unlikely on cards,” she said.
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As Mumbai reels under deficit rain, the water stock in the seven lakes that supply water to the city continued to languish at 5 per cent, which is the lowest in the past three years at least. On Tuesday, the lake levels sank to 5.29 per cent of the total live storage, which amounts to 76,602 million litres. In 2023, on the same day, the lake levels stood at 6.49 per cent despite a late monsoon onset, while in 2022, the water stock floated at 9.56 per cent.
