Mumbaiites, get your umbrellas out, the monsoon is finally here

Mumbai city news: South Mumbai and the suburbs recorded heavy overnight rain between Sunday night and Monday morning

Mumbaiites, it’s time to dust off your umbrellas and raincoats. The south-west monsoon finally hit Mumbai on Monday morning, two days later than its usual onset date of June 10, said the weather bureau.

Heavy rains lashed the city on Sunday. (Pratik Chorge/HT)

The monsoon, however, arrived a day earlier than predicted by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) last week. Last year, the rains came to Mumbai on June 20 — 10 days late.

“The south-west monsoon has advanced quickly and entered Mumbai. We know it is the south-west monsoon if there are three days of continuous rain, which Mumbai has witnessed. Weather models have indicated that rain-bearing clouds are currently over Valsad, Gujarat, and most parts of Maharashtra, including Marathwada,” said KS Hosalikar, deputy director general, western region, IMD.

South Mumbai and the suburbs recorded heavy overnight rain between Sunday night and Monday morning. Between 8 30am Sunday and 8.30am Monday, Colaba recorded 94mm rain and 74mm was recorded at Santacruz, both falling under the ‘heavy rain’ category.

Under the IMD’s new classification, 15.6mm to 64.4mm of rain is considered ‘moderate’, 64.5mm to 115.5mm is ‘heavy’, 115.6mm to 204.4mm is ‘very heavy’ and more than 204.5mm is ‘extreme’.

Since June 1, the suburbs has recorded 151mm rain till Monday morning, which is 50.1mm above normal and south Mumbai has recorded 188.2mm rain, 81mm above normal.

The weather bureau has predicted moderate rain over the city for the rest of Monday and on Tuesday, with heavy spells at some areas.