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Passenger buses are stranded on a waterlogged road after heavy rains caused by Cyclone Tauktae in Mumbai. (Photo: Reuters) The intensity of Tauktae had reduced to ‘Cyclonic Storm’ by Tuesday and is likely to further weaken into a deep depression by Tuesday night.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast rain/ thundershowers in Mumbai and Thane in the next 24 hours. It has forecast light to moderate rain in Palghar for Wednesday. For the Konkan coast, light rain is forecast in the next 24 hours.
Gusty winds reaching up to 114 km/hour and extremely heavy rain was recorded in Mumbai on Monday as Cyclone Tauktae rapidly intensified on Sunday and was classified as an “extremely severe cyclonic storm” (ESCS), which has a wind range of 166-221 kmph. Tauktae made landfall in southern Gujarat on Monday night.
On Tuesday, a partly cloudy sky was witnessed in Mumbai city and suburbs, with no rain reported. Ratnagiri recorded light rain at 0.3 mm.
A nearly four-degree drop in minimum temperature was recorded in Mumbai in 24 hours at 23.6 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. After recording the coldest day in May on Monday, a two-degree increase in day temperature was recorded at 31.6 degrees Celsius.
The city’s maximum temperature is expected to remain normal over the next 48 hours. On Wednesday, the maximum temperature is expected to be around 30 degrees Celsius and the minimum 25 degrees Celsius.
On Monday the city experienced its wettest ever day in the peak summer month of May. The Santacruz observatory recorded 230 mm in 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Tuesday. The previous 24-hour rainfall record for May was 190 mm (in 2000). Likewise, the Colaba observatory recorded 207 mm in the same time period, breaking the existing record of 190.8mm (2000) on Monday. Both fall under the extremely heavy rain category.
Rainfall records maintained by the IMD between 2011 and 2021 state that both Colaba and Santacruz observatories recorded rainfall in May only once in 2017 (3 mm).
The cyclone caused exceptionally heavy rainfall all along the west coast. Ratnagiri reported similar record rainfall, measuring 364 mm within 15 hours between Sunday and Monday 8.30 am. Between Monday and Tuesday morning, Ratnagiri recorded 63.3 mm rain, Palghar district (north of Mumbai) recorded 298 mm rain in the same time period.
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