New Delhi: Mumbai is set to experience “really heavy rains” that will “affect normal life”, Skymet predicted on Tuesday, triggering fears of a repeat of the 2005 deluge that brought the city to a standstill.
Mahesh Palawat, vice-president, meteorology and climate change at Skymet, said the rains would be “bad” but the city was well-prepared to deal with them.
“There will be really heavy rains that will affect normal life. South Mumbai and other southern areas will be affected the most. I can’t say that a repeat of 2005 is possible but yes, it will be bad. However, problems can be avoided as we know of the situation in advance,” said Palawat.
He added, “The Santacruz observatory of Mumbai recorded 51mm rain in the past 24 hours. [There is] More to come during the afternoon.” Skymet has also predicted good rains over Marathwada, Hingoli, Beed and Jalna, which may receive thundershowers for the next few hours.
The weather forecasting agency has said the city will receive sustained heavy rainfall on June 8, 9 and 10. Skymet Weather Services’ founder and chief executive officer Jatin Singh tweeted on Monday, “Warnings should be issued now. Just stay indoors.”
Pre-monsoons showers arrived in Mumbai on Saturday, with most parts of the city witnessing moderate to heavy rains. According to information available on Skymet’s website, Chincholi saw the heaviest rains (39mm) between 8pm and 9pm, followed by Kurla and Kandivali (34mm each).
The southwest monsoon, which waters more than half of India’s farmland, hit the mainland ahead of its normal schedule. It reached Kerala on May 29 instead of the usual June 1, according to a statement on the India Meteorological Department’s website.
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