Contrary to reports in a section of the media, the monsoon still hasn’t arrived in Mumbai. The rainfall witnessed in the past two days was due to cyclone Biporjoy, which will make a landfall between Mandvi in Kutch and Karachi near Jakhau Port at a speed of 125-135 kmph in two days.
Climate expert and founder of Vagaries, Rajesh Kapadia told the Free Press Journal that pre-monsoon showers in Mumbai are expected in the next three to four days and will be accompanied by wind speeds of around 30 kmph. The city witnessed some incidents of tree falls due to high velocity of winds since Sunday night, though. “The city is also unlikely to get respite from the scorching heat as temperatures are expected to hover around 33-34 degrees Celsius,” Kapadia said.
Vis-à-vis the arrival of monsoon in Maharashtra, the India Meteorological Department is closely monitoring further advancement of southwestern monsoon winds, which have reached certain parts of Karnataka but their progression into Maharashtra is yet to be determined.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed two additional teams in Mumbai as a precautionary measure, an official said on Monday.
The NDRF teams, in addition to three already deployed in the metropolis, have been stationed at Andheri and Kanjurmarg areas in the western and eastern suburbs, respectively, he said, adding that teams based in Pune have been kept on standby.
