SoBo sees heavy rain, suburbs moderate; IMD may lift alert

As Cyclone Nisarga made landfall between Srivardhan and Murud in Raigad district on Wednesday afternoon, it brought rain and wind to Mumbai. Colaba recorded wind

As Cyclone Nisarga made landfall between Srivardhan and Murud in Raigad district on Wednesday afternoon, it brought rain and wind to Mumbai. Colaba recorded wind speed of 74 kilometres per hour (kmph) and heavy rain. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said it may remove the orange alert (for heavy rain warning) for the city on Thursday. IMD has forecast light and moderate rain for Thursday, with a maximum temperature of 26 degrees Celsius and minimum temperature of 23 degrees Celsius.

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On Wednesday, IMD recorded “rather heavy” rain (48.9mm) in south Mumbai between 8.30am and 8.30pm, while the suburbs witnessed moderate rainfall (23.6mm). The same trend was seen between 8.30am on Tuesday to 8.30am on Wednesday, with Colaba and Santacruz weather stations recording 45.2mm and 23.4mm rainfall respectively. “Since the path of the cyclone was close to south Mumbai, it rained more in that part of the city compared to the suburbs,” said Nitha Sasidharan, scientist at IMD Mumbai.

Mahesh Palawat, vice president (climate and meteorology) at private weather forecast agency Skymet Weather, said, “The cyclone was anticipated to reach north of Mumbai two days ago, but changed track to south of Mumbai. As a result, the intensity of rain was witnessed in the southern part of Mumbai.” He said isolated showers were forecast for Friday, followed by clear skies afterwards.

As per IMD’s bulletins, the severe cyclonic storm had weakened into a cyclonic storm and lay centred over interior Maharashtra on Wednesday evening. It had moved northeast-wards at 22kmph and weakened into a deep depression over north Madhya Maharashtra, which is approximately 100 kilometres from Mumbai. At 7.30pm, wind intensity was 55-65kmph, gusting at 75kmph.

According to IMD, the deep depression will move northeast-wards and further weaken into a depression over the next 12 hours. Wind forecast for this period of time in coastal Maharashtra and Gujarat is 55-65kmph, gusting at 75kmph. After 12 hours, wind speed is expected to reduce to 40-50kmph, gusting at 60kmph. “As the cyclone trajectory moved in the interiors of Maharashtra, it weakened and ended up in a depression. So while rains will continue because of the cyclonic weather system, the intensity of the winds will reduce,” said Sasidharan.