Monsoon may hit city in 4 days

Rain clouds on Wednesday were some 500 km south of Mumbai, at Karwar in Karnataka near Mangalore. If they don’t lose momentum, rain will hit the city in four days, said the city’s Met department.

Rain clouds on Wednesday were some 500 km south of Mumbai, at Karwar in Karnataka near Mangalore. If they don’t lose momentum, rain will hit the city in four days, said the city’s Met department.

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Weathermen expect the monsoon to advance to Goa in the next couple of days. “If that happens monsoon would reach Mumbai by June 8,” said R.V. Sharma, deputy director, Indian Meteorology Department, western region.

The Met bureau is also planning to set up automatic weather stations to provide local forecasts. “We are in talks with various civic agencies like the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Corporation to set up automatic weather stations to get local weather updates,” said Sharma.

As a sizable population working in the city lives outside the city, some of these unmanned stations would be set up in Thane and Navi Mumbai.

“The monsoon hit the Kerala coast early compared to previous years,” said Sharma.

The monsoon reached the Kerala coast on May 23, eight days prior to its usual arrival, but there was a weeklong lull before it advanced further.

However, the loss in momentum would not delay its arrival in Mumbai, said weathermen.

Weathermen expect good rain this year. “We expect 96 per cent rainfall throughout the country,” said Sharma. The average rainfall expected in Maharashtra is 89 cm. Barring dry districts like Marathwada, the state has got good rain, claim weathermen. “If you study rain patterns in Maharashtra in the last four years, every year has seen a slight increase in rain,” said Sharma.