Mumbai has received more rainfall in the first five days of July than the average expected for the entire month, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD's Santacruz observatory recorded 899.2 mm of rainfall between July 1 and 8:30 am on July 6, exceeding its July monthly average of 855.7 mm by 5.1%. At the Colaba observatory, 823.4 mm of rainfall was recorded during the same period, surpassing the monthly average of 734.1 mm by 12.2%.
The heavy rainfall has also erased the rainfall deficit recorded in June.
Mumbai had an unusually dry start to the monsoon season due to the absence of pre-monsoon showers and a delayed onset of the southwest monsoon. During the first half of June, Santacruz recorded just 12.9 mm of rainfall, while Colaba received only 4.2 mm.
The monsoon arrived in Mumbai on June 23, 13 days later than its normal onset date. A spell of heavy rain on June 24 brought nearly half of the city's average June rainfall in a single day. This was followed by a brief lull before monsoon activity intensified again in early July.
For the past five days, Mumbai and its suburbs have witnessed persistent heavy rainfall, pushing July's rainfall totals beyond the month's climatological average within the first week itself.