Monsoon revival continues; IMD sounds orange alert in city today

The monsoon revival in Mumbai continued on Friday with heavy rain and thunderstorms. The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for heavy rain until Saturday morning. After that, a green alert is in place indicating a decrease in intensity. The revival is due to a combination of meteorological factors including positive Indian Ocean Dipole and a low pressure system over the Bay of Bengal. There were some incidents of damage caused by the rain, but no injuries were reported.

The monsoon revival in the city continued on Friday though the intensity of rain was less compared to what it was the day before.

Mumbai, India - Sep 08, 2023 : Subway closed due to Heavy Rainfall at Andheri, in Mumbai, India, Friday, Sep 08, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has upgraded the yellow alert to orange alert till 8.30am on Saturday. That means there will be heavy to very heavy rain and thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds at isolated places.

“We expect over 110mm of rain till 8.30am on Saturday. After that, there is a green alert for Mumbai, indicating that the intensity will come down,” Sunil Kamble, head of IMD’s Regional Meteorological Centre, said.

Between 8.30am to 5.30pm on Friday, IMD’s Santacruz observatory recorded 70.3mm of rainfall against 111.1mm on Thursday. Colaba station recorded 46mm while it was 50.1mm on the previous day.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), till 6pm on Friday, the city, the eastern suburbs, and the western suburbs received 35.39mm, 47.68mm, and 51.26mm of rainfall respectively.

After a break in August due to the El Nino effect, a multitude of meteorological factors lined up to lead to this revival, said Athreya Shetty, a meteorologist.

“We had a positive IOD, which refers to warmer waters in the western Indian Ocean, acting as the ocean’s counterpart to the El Nino phenomenon. The Madden Julian Oscillation, an atmospheric wave that moves across the earth, is also strong over South Asia. These combined with a low pressure over the Bay of Bengal led to this heavy spell,” Shetty said.

Three cows died at 5.34am on Friday after they came in contact with a live wire near an electric pole. BMC recorded 16 tree fall incidents, three cases of short circuit, one landslide, and five cases of house collapse. No injuries were reported. As for traffic disruptions, Andheri subway had to be shut due to waterlogging for a while in the afternoon, a BMC press release said.

For Saturday (after 8.30am), IMD has issued a green alert for Mumbai, indicating moderate rain. Thane and Palghar will continue to be on yellow alert and can expect heavy rain and thunderstorm with lightning at isolated places.