Yellow alert sounded in Mumbai, IMD predicts more heavy rains

After a brief respite, Mumbai is set to witness a resurgence of heavy rains this week, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a yellow alert for the city and its neighbouring districts of Thane and Palghar on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to the weather bureau, the region will experience heavy rains in isolated pockets until Thursday morning at least, following which moderate rain is likely.

The data furnished by the IMD shows that between Saturday and Sunday morning, Mumbai’s suburban rain gauge in Santacruz received 1.9 mm rain while the Colaba coastal observatory registered only 0.7 mm rain. The light showers come as respite from the heavy rain that battered Mumbai earlier in the week when over 900 mm rain was recorded in four days between August 16 and 19. After surpassing the seasonal average rainfall and also receiving over two times the monthly average rain for August month by August 20, the rains subdued considerably in the city with IMD issuing no alerts.

However, meteoroloigists have indicated that the city is set to experience yet another surge in monsoon showers, starting Tuesday. In its latest forecast bulletin, the IMD has placed Mumbai, Thane and Palghar districts under a yellow alert on Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, the nearby districts of Konkan region like Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg have also been placed under a yellow alert for the next four days between Monday and Thursday.

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Weather observers have attributed the surge in rains to a fresh low-pressure area which is expected to form over Bay of Bengal by Monday.

So far, the Santacruz observatory has recorded 2,345 mm rain since June, which is a surplus of 511 mm rain from the average for the season. Meanwhile, the Colaba coastal station is presently reeling under a small deficit of 103.2 mm rain, with the station having clocked in 1,545 mm rain between June and Sunday morning.