Attention Mumbai-Thane residents! Brace yourselves for the next 24-36 hours as the weather forecasts predict that we may experience the wettest spell of the season thus far. Be prepared for heavy rainfall and potential disruptions to your daily commute, particularly tomorrow morning. Many areas across the city are expected to be affected.
According to the forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city of Mumbai and its surrounding suburbs have been issued an 'orange' alert until July 19, Wednesday. This alert signifies the possibility of 'heavy' to 'very heavy' rainfall in isolated areas. However, the rains could also impact the city on Thursday and Friday.
For July 20, both Palghar and Thane districts are placed under the same warning, while Raigad district remains on an orange alert until July 21. A noteworthy update is that the Matheran hill station, located in Raigad district, experienced an astounding 9cm of rainfall within a 24-hour period ending at 8:30 am on Monday. Additionally, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has cautioned about the possibility of isolated incidents of 'extremely heavy' rainfall in the Konkan region on July 19, which amounts to over 204.4mm of rainfall in a single day.
“A low-pressure area is developing in the Bay of Bengal, which will strengthen the offshore monsoon trough near Maharashtra. When this system moves closer toward the shore or inland around July 18, Mumbai and adjacent parts of the Konkan will see a monsoon revival,” an IMD scientist said.
During the 24-hour period ending at 8:30 am on Monday, the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) base weather station at Santacruz received 26mm of rainfall. However, between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm, south Mumbai recorded a higher rainfall of 50.8mm, while the suburbs received 36.9mm of rain. The maximum temperature recorded in Santacruz was 27.7 degrees Celsius, and the minimum temperature settled one degree below the normal at 25°C.
Looking ahead to the next week, Mumbai can expect the maximum temperature to range between 28-29°C, while the minimum temperature will remain around 24°C. The skies will remain cloudy and overcast, providing little to no sunlight.