In what is set to bring in huge relief for people who have been reeling under simmering heat since April, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has now announced that light to moderate showers will sweep Thane starting Saturday, where the weather bureau has also announced a yellow alert sounding the possibility of thunderstorms coupled with lightning and gusty winds for Sunday. Light rain and thundershowers are also set to sweep Mumbai between Sunday and Monday, according to the IMD. The entire Maharashtra is currently experiencing rain, a development which has been attributed to interaction of two different types of winds. In Nagpur, amid an orange alert, 50.2 mm rainfall was recorded until Thursday evening. According to Mohanlal Sahu from the Nagpur's Regional Meteorological Centre, with Nagpur recording 50.2 mm rain till 5.30 pm on Thursday, it marks a 58-year-old record for May. Meanwhile, responding to questions about Thane and Mumbai, IMD meteorologists maintained that light showers are likely to sweep the districts in the coming days, while a yellow warning of thunderstorms has been sounded between Saturday and Sunday for Raigad district. Sushma Nair, scientist from IMD Mumbai said, “Currently, there is a trough and a line of discontinuity. So there will be interaction of different types of winds - that is dry and moist winds. Owing to this, light drizzle is likely to occur in Mumbai and Thane. Meanwhile, a yellow alert has been sounded for Thane on Sunday but that pertains largely to the interiors of the district and the portions which border the neighbouring districts." "Due to the light showers, the temperatures in Mumbai may see a slight dip but will largely remain in the same range of around 33 degrees," Nair told Express. After reeling under record-shattering temperatures in April when the temperatures touched nearly 40 degrees, the city and its suburbs have sought respite in May with the maximum temperatures hovering in the range of 33 - 34 degrees. However, weather experts have cautioned that another episode of heatwave is likely to hit the city, following the showers. Earlier this month, in their monthly outlook for May, IMD had stated that the western parts of the country including Maharashtra are slated to witness above normal temperatures in May, alongside recording higher number of heat wave days.
