Expect light to moderate showers this weekend in Mumbai: IMD

The weather bureau’s forecast for heavy to very heavy rain for Thursday turned out to be another false alarm this season as the city recorded negligible. The bureau has predicted light to moderate showers for the weekend.

From 8.30am to 8.30pm Thursday, the suburbs recorded 0.4mm rain, while south Mumbai recorded 1.2mm rain against India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain. “The deep depression over Bay of Bengal off north Odisha West Bengal coast, which was likely to lead to heavy rain weakened into a depression and now lies over north-east Chhattisgarh,” an IMD official said. “Now this weather system is likely to weaken further into a low pressure, reducing rain in north Konkan, including Mumbai.”

The forecast issued on Thursday for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar read, ‘light to moderate rain’ till Monday and ‘heavy to very heavy rain across isolated places’ for Raigad, Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri for Friday. Extremely heavy rain is likely to continue over ghat areas of Pune, Kolhapur and Satara on Friday.

Meanwhile, Mahabaleshwar emerged as the wettest location in India this monsoon with 6,031.5mm rain from June to August 8, surpassing Cherrapunji in Meghalaya. Mumbai, with 2,454.3mm rain and Ratnagiri, with 2,565.6mm, also made it to the list of six wettest places in India. “Monsoon has been hyper-active in the western ghats over the last few weeks. Mahabaleshwar, being a hill station, is getting enhanced rainfall since the monsoon winds are getting blocked by the hills in these regions,” said Akshay Deoras, meteorologist and PhD researcher at the department of meteorology, University of Reading, UK and advisor to the state government.

Deoras added that this weekend most of Maharashtra will witness reduced rainfall activity. “Currently, a strong monsoon low pressure system is moving through central India. North-central Maharashtra will witness moderate to heavy rainfall (especially in the areas near Gujarat border). MMR will witness some showers with higher intensity towards Thane district,” he said.

“As the weather systems die down, under its influence some heavy isolated heavy spells are expected till Sunday but nothing as a cause of concern,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet.

First Published: Aug 08, 2019 23:13 IST