Mumbaikars heaved a sigh of relief on Friday, as the monsoon arrived in the city and its suburbs with a bang on Thursday night, ending a spell of extreme heat and sweltering humidity.
Heavy rains lashed the city and its suburbs on Thursday night and Friday morning. While the Island city registered a rainfall of 24.6 mm during 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Friday, the suburbs received a higher rainfall of 82.2 mm during the same period.
The Island city recorded a maximum temperature of 32.8 degree Celsius, while the mercury touched a maximum of 35 degrees C in the suburbs. The minimum temperatures at the Colaba in south Mumbai and Santacruz in north Mumbai were 26 and 23 degrees C, respectively.
Though the city and suburbs reeled under heavy rains on Thursday night and Friday morning, no major water logging was reported from the low-lying areas in the city.
However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reported two collapses in different parts of the city during the last 24 hours. While a gallery of a chawl near Narayan Dhuru Maha Vidyalay at Govindi north-easf Mumbai crashed on Thursday eveing, a 40 feet tall structure collapsed at Mangle Chawl at Borivli (east) in north Mumbai in the small hours of Friday. There were as many as 13 tree falls across the city and suburbs during the last 24 hours. The weather bureau has forecast rains and thunder showers during the next 48 hours.
Confirming the arrival of the monsoon in the city, Mumbai Regional Meteorological Centre’s Director General V K Rajeev said: “The monsoon winds have formally arrived in Mumbai and have reached Dahanu in the neighbouring Thane district. The rainfall is irregular now. It will take four to five days for Mumbai to start receiving regular rainfall”.
Meanwhile, the BMC has warned Mumbaikars about the high tide conditions for specified periods in the Arabian Sea during the 72 hours. According to the BMC, the levels of water would rise to 4.04 meters at 9.58 am on Saturday, 4.32 meters at 10.51 am on Sunday (June 14), and 4.52 meters at 11.39 am and 4 meters at 11.34 pm on Monday ( June 15).
During the monsoon, most flooding occurs during high tide. Mumbai’s drainage system is designed to run off into the Arabian Sea. If a major storm occurs during high tide, the rainfall backs up and flooding occurs. However, the BMC and other agencies are better prepared this year to handle the heavy floodings on city roads, railway tracks and low-lying areas.