New Delhi: The Regional Meteorological Centre on Monday said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert, indicating chances of ‘heavy to very heavy rainfall’, for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, news agency Asian News International (ANI) reported. An IMD spokesperson had earlier on Sunday advised people to take precautions while stepping out in the country’s financial capital on Monday.
The official said the city may get “around 130 mm of rainfall” over the next two or three days, adding this is not “alarming” by Mumbai standards, but could cause “waterlogging”.
The IMD had in its daily bulletin on Sunday informed that “fairly widespread/ widespread rainfall with thunderstorm/ lightning is very likely over Karnataka, Konkan and Goa, Kerala and Mahe and Lakshadweep”.
The IMD, which is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology, also informed “scattered to fairly widespread rainfall” likely over Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Marathwada, Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal during the next five days.
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The official date for the onset of the southwest monsoon was June 11.
The reports, however, say Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra have been witnessing cloudy skies and intermittent rain only in the last few days. The first low-visibility downpour occurred in isolated areas early Sunday.
Mumbai, as per the IMD, has received around 16.2 mm of rainfall so far, while Thane and Palghar have received 1.3 mm and 7.77 mm of rainfall respectively.
With the fresh spell of rain, the air quality in Mumbai, which is infamous for waterlogging in monsoon, has increased to a “good category”.
The overall Air Quality Index (AQI), as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), was 29 on Monday morning. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’.