Mumbai: Light rains, thundershowers forecast for city for next two days

Following heavy rains on Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted partly cloudy skies with light rains and thundershowers in the city and suburbs for the next two days. Most parts of the city, including areas like Andheri, Vile Parle, Borivali and Mulund, experienced heavy rains from Wednesday afternoon up till late evening.

According to the IMD, a cyclonic circulation at the coast of Tamil Nadu has formed along with other monsoon systems which are resulting in rains over the city. Although Mumbai was supposed to begin its monsoon retreat five days ago on October 8, IMD official Sushma Nair said that the city may have to wait for another week before monsoon retreat begins. “Till the climate remains wet, the withdrawal can't set in. We are experiencing rains due to certain weather systems which are delaying the dryness of the weather and other factors which confirm the retreat of monsoon in any given region,” she explained.

The month of October this year has been witnessing an increase in rainfall compared to previous years. According to the IMD data, the Santacruz observatory recorded 114mm rainfall - the highest downpour recorded in a decade – during overnight rain between Friday and Saturday last week.

On Wednesday, Santacruz witnessed a minimum temperature of 24.4 degrees Celsius and maximum of 32 degrees Celsius, with 80% relative humidity. Colaba experienced a minimum temperature of 23.5 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 30.8 degrees Celsius, with 92% relative humidity.

According to the data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research, Mumbai on Wednesday recorded a good Air Quality Index (AQI) of 25, while other cities like Delhi, Pune and Ahmedabad recorded AQIs of 52, 23 and 52, respectively.