Mumbai to see light rain for 4 days; intensity up in Maharashtra from Friday

Private weather forecasting agency Skymet said rain-bearing weather systems around the north Konkan region, including Mumbai, were missing.

Weather forecasters have said that the lull in rain over Mumbai is likely to continue at least for the next five days but is expected to revive in interior Maharashtra from Friday. The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) district rainfall forecast said light to moderate rain is expected over the north Konkan coast from July 19 to July 22.

Mumbai has recorded 64% of the season’s average rainfall so far. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

“Active monsoon conditions are expected to revive by Tuesday with isolated spells of heavy rain till Friday. Before that, low rain activity, as witnessed over the past four to five days, is likely to continue,” said an IMD official.

Private weather forecasting agency Skymet said rain-bearing weather systems around the north Konkan region, including Mumbai, were missing. “As a result, the westerly winds, which play a major role in bringing rains over the coast, are weak. The formation of a well-marked low pressure area over Bay of Bengal is likely to lead higher moisture incursions, bringing good rains over south Konkan, Vidarbha, Marathwada and other parts of Maharashtra as well as central India from Friday onwards,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet.

On Thursday, south Mumbai recorded no rain between 8.30am and 5.30pm while the suburbs recorded 1.6mm rain. Mumbai has so far recorded 98.8% of its July average rainfall, with 831.44mm rain till July 18 8.30am against the average for the month at 840.7mm. The city has also recorded 64% of the season’s average so far.

Lack of rain led day temperatures to rise above normal. The day temperatures in the suburbs and south Mumbai were almost 3 degrees Celsius above normal, at 32.6 and 32.7 degrees Celsius. The night temperature was a degree Celsius above normal. The weather forecast for Friday said, “partly cloudy sky with light rain in the city and suburbs.”