Mumbai gets above normal rain for September within first 13 days of month

Mumbai recorded above normal rain for September within the first 13 days of the month, touching 407.4mm (as per the India Meteorological Department’s observatory in Santacruz)

After a prolonged dry spell last month, which resulted in the city’s fourth-driest August in 10 years, Mumbai recorded above normal rain for September within the first 13 days of the month, touching 407.4mm (as per the India Meteorological Department’s observatory in Santacruz). This is in excess of September’s normal average for the month at 327.1mm. In comparison, Mumbai saw only 338mm of rain in August, as opposed to the monthly normal of 546.2mm. The city recorded 39mm of rain in 24 hours ending 8.30am.

Mumbai’s rain in first 13 days of September is in excess of the month’s normal average at 327.1mm (VIJAY BATE/HT)

A Negative Indian Ocean Dipole over the tropical Indian Ocean — a phenomenon where the western Indian ocean becomes colder than the eastern one and which is unfavourable for monsoon — prevailed throughout August, contributing to deficient rainfall, said experts at the IMD. There were also fewer typhoons in the West Pacific than is typical around this time of the year, leading to less westward movement of their remnant weather systems, into the Bay of Bengal.

This led to fewer low-pressure systems forming over Bay, which typically activates monsoon activity across India. “Owing to a deep depression which has formed over the Bay of Bengal and a low-pressure area covering parts of south Gujarat, the northern part of the Konkan coast in Maharashtra has been receiving good rain for a week,” said Shubhangi Bhute, meteorologist with the IMD’s regional centre in Mumbai. She added that short bursts of heavy rain are likely to continue on Tuesday, after which moderate rainfall activity will prevail till at least Friday.

In 24 hours ending 8.30am on Monday, the city and surrounding metropolitan areas received widespread moderate to heavy rain. While most monitoring locations of south Mumbai received between 20mm-40mm of rain, parts of the suburbs, Thane and Navi Mumbai received between 40mm and 70mm. Thane saw the heaviest showers, touching 142mm in the past 24 hours.