The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for the next four days with light to moderate rainfall.
Meanwhile, the city is expected to witness a cloudy sky with heavy rains as per IMD predictions.
According to a statement from the Regional Meteorological Centre in Mumbai, a low-pressure area is expected to form over the Arabian Sea around May 22, which may intensify and move northwards in the following days.
On Tuesday, May 20, heavy showers accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning lashed parts of Mumbai and its suburbs like Andheri, Malad, Borivali, Vile Parle.
While these unseasonal rains brought much-needed relief from the scorching heat; it also resulted in waterlogging, delayed trains and traffic congestion, disrupting the daily life of Mumbaikars.
The fresh spell of showers were also witnessed in adjoining Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and Navi Mumbai.
Rains recorded in 24 hours:
Mumbai received over 60 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, with the maximum showers recorded after 7.00 pm on Tuesday, May 20, according to a data from IMD.
The average rainfall recorded between 8 am on May 20 and 8 am on May 21 was 24 mm in the city, 26 mm in the eastern suburbs, and 40 mm in the western suburbs.
Data from the IMD showed that until Wednesday morning, the Santacruz observatory recorded 62 mm of rain while Colaba station recorded 23 mm of rainfall.
As per the IMD’s definitions, rainfall between 15.6 mm and 64.4 mm is categorised as “moderate”.
According to the BMC’s automatic weather station, heaviest showers were recorded in the western suburbs which received an average of 40 mm rain, followed by 26 mm of rain in the eastern suburbs and 24 mm rain in the island city division.
Early monsoon arrival in Mumbai:
The IMD has predicted that the metropolis may welcome the monsoon ahead of schedule this year. As per the weather agency, the monsoon might arrive in Maharashtra between May 27 and 29. The forecast, shared in early May, suggests favourable wind and pressure conditions are likely to advance the southwest monsoon, traditionally expected over Mumbai around June 10.