3,000-mm rainfall mark is crossed; more rain ahead in Mumbai

From June to September 4, 8.30pm, Mumbai recorded 3,053.4mm rain. The annual average rainfall for the city is 2,514mm while the seasonal average (June to September) is 2,317.2mm.

Extremely heavy rain over six hours on Wednesday and intense showers over the past 48 hours helped Mumbai surpass the 3,000mm mark this monsoon.

Water logging due to heavy rain on Tulsi pipe road near matunga station in Mumbai. (Vijayanand Gupta/HT Photo)

From June to September 4, 8.30pm, Mumbai recorded 3,053.4mm rain. The annual average rainfall for the city is 2,514mm while the seasonal average (June to September) is 2,317.2mm.

Monsoon onset this year was delayed by 15 days as the season was officially declared on June 25, against the official onset date of June 10. Officially, the southwest monsoon is witnessed for four months – June to September – for Mumbai.

Last year, the city did not cross the annual average rainfall mark, and recorded 2,239.6mm from June to September, with hardly any rainfall during August or September. In 2017, 2,946.3mm was recorded over four months.

In the past, Mumbai surpassed the 3,000mm mark for the entire season only in 2010 and 2011. Overall, the city has recorded over 50% excess rain, while south Mumbai recorded 20% excess so far.

The Colaba weather station, representative of south Mumbai, has recorded 2,159.2mm rain for the season.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials on Tuesday said Mumbai was likely to surpass the 3,000mm mark by the end of the week, but unprecedented rain activity on Wednesday helped the city surpass this record within a day. Meanwhile, Thane has recorded 3,545mm rain for the season while Mahabaleshwar is currently the wettest place in the country with 7,243.1mm.

For the past three months, heavy to very heavy rain spells have been witnessed during the first week of every month, which helped the city surpass its seasonal and annual average rainfall. Apart from the past 57 hours, three spells of extremely heavy rain days this monsoon included July 1 and 2 when 375.2mm was recorded in 24 hours; 219.2mm from July 26 to July 27, and 204mm between August 3 and 4 – all identified as ‘extreme rainfall’ events.