After a relatively calm start to the week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts heavy rainfall in Mumbai starting on Thursday and continuing throughout the weekend.
The IMD has issued a ‘yellow’ alert for Mumbai on Wednesday, July 5, indicating an increase in rain activity. From July 6 to July 7, heavy rain is expected at isolated places as a low-pressure system may form off the Andhra coast.
A weather bureau official explained that the reduced rain activity was due to the western end of the monsoon trough being north of its normal position. However, a cyclonic circulation over the southwest and southeast Bay of Bengal could lead to a low-pressure system forming off the Andhra coast on July 4-5, increasing rain activity in the city. Additionally, there is an off-shore trough running from the south Maharashtra coast to the Kerala coast, which may contribute to increased rainfall.
In the 24 hours ending Monday at 8:30 am, the IMD’s Colaba and Santacruz observatories recorded 22 mm and 45 mm of rainfall, respectively. This could be the second intense downpour the city experiences following the previous torrential rains that resulted in flooding in several areas.
The water levels in the seven lakes supplying water to Mumbai currently stand at 17% as of Monday. This is the first time this year that the water levels have exceeded those of the same date in 2022 (12.92%) and 2021 (19.82%). City officials noted that having approximately one percent of water stocks is sufficient to meet the city’s water requirement for three days.
