Mumbai: After weeks of intense humidity and rising anxiety over the delayed monsoon, Mumbai finally witnessed widespread pre-monsoon showers accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms on Monday morning, bringing much-needed relief to residents across the city and nearby regions.
Light to moderate rain lashed several parts of South Mumbai, eastern and western suburbs, Thane and Navi Mumbai since early morning, while cloudy skies and thunder activity indicated stronger rainfall in the coming hours. Visuals shared on the internet by news agencies like ANI, PTI and IANS show Dadar, Bandra, Goregaon and parts of the Eastern Express Highway lashed by showers.
Monsoon Onset By Later Today Or Tomorrow
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), conditions have become favourable for the southwest monsoon to advance into Mumbai either later in the day or by Tuesday. However, the weather department clarified that the official declaration of monsoon onset would be made only after all meteorological parameters are fully met.
For the past several days, Mumbai residents had been eagerly waiting for rainfall as the city continued to battle extreme humidity, rising temperatures and water shortage concerns. While the monsoon typically arrives in Mumbai around June 7 or 8, this year the city remained largely dry even after June 20, triggering concerns over delayed rainfall and possible water cuts.
Although isolated showers were reported in Mumbai and Thane on Sunday morning, the rain activity remained weak through most of the day. However, Monday morning witnessed more widespread and comparatively intense showers across several parts of the city, including Dadar and both eastern and western suburbs.
The delayed progress of the monsoon was caused by a combination of factors, including the impact of El Nino conditions, dry air intrusion and the absence of strong low-pressure systems over the region.
According to reports quoting weather experts, rainfall activity is expected to gradually intensify between June 24 and June 28 as weather systems move towards the northern Konkan coastline and interior parts of Maharashtra. The monsoon, which had remained stalled for nearly two weeks, has now shown gradual progress over Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli and Pune districts.
Mumbai's AQI Remains In Good Range
Meanwhile, Mumbai’s air quality also remained healthy amid the changing weather conditions. Air quality data released on Monday morning recorded the city’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 43, placing it comfortably within the ‘good’ category and indicating minimal health concerns.
AQI.in
Despite the overall improvement, pollution levels varied across areas. Chandivali recorded Mumbai’s highest AQI at 163, placing it in the ‘poor’ category, while Bhandup West reported an AQI of 94 and Chembur 70, both within the ‘moderate’ range.
Several areas, however, continued to enjoy exceptionally clean air quality. Andheri East recorded the city’s cleanest AQI at just 8, followed by Ghatkopar at 10, while Gamdevi and Santacruz both registered AQI levels of 12. Borivali reported an AQI of 13.
As per standard AQI classifications, readings between 0 and 50 are considered ‘good’, while values between 51 and 100 fall under the ‘moderate’ category. AQI levels above 100 indicate worsening air quality, while readings above 300 are categorised as ‘severe’.
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