Mumbai: Keep your fingers crossed: the Indian Meteorology Department is predicting the onset of monsoon in Mumbai on June 6/7. Last year, it had arrived on June 12, two days later than normal. On Monday, the State had a sneak preview of what lies ahead. Pre monsoon showers and gusty winds hit Latur, Konkan and parts of Marathwada. The unexpected rain and thunderstorm damaged the crop and makeshift rooftops were blown away. Trees and mobile towers collapsed.
This interplay of various weather systems could result in cloudy conditions and light pre-monsoon showers in Mumbai as well, said Bishwambhar S, chief public relations officer, Regional Meteorological Centre, IMD. He specially cited in this context the trough stretching from north Karnataka up to Tamil Nadu, and another system over Kerala.
“Parts of north Konkan could witness pre-monsoon activity such as light rainfall by June 3. This is due to the low pressure area that has developed in the south eastern Arabian Sea,” said an IMD (Mumbai) scientist. He mentioned that there was an early morning drizzle last week in parts of the city (Parel) and neighbouring Kalwa. The humidity levels in the city, however, continued to remain high, leading to much discomfort. The level recorded by IMD Colaba was 85 per cent and Santacruz 72 per cent, even as the maximum temperature continued to hover between 34 and 35 degrees Celsius.