As rain plays truant, Mumbaikars battle sultry weather

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Mumbaikars are battling high humidity in the wake of monsoon playing truant since Sunday even as Met officials on Monday predicted thundershowers in the island city and suburbs for the next two days.

After witnessing heavy rainfall on June 9, the city has remained considerably dry. As per a India Meteorological Department (IMD) prediction, "one or two spells of rain/thundershowers in the city and suburbs (are likely) for the next two days".

Earlier on Sunday, the Met department downgraded its "heavy to very rainfall" warning for Mumbai and suburbs. The Colaba and Santacruz observatories of IMD respectively recorded 0.4 mm rainfall and "trace" (drizzling that can not be measured and only can be felt or traced) from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on Monday.

The maximum temperatures recorded by Colaba and Santa Cruz observatories on Monday were 33 degree Celsius and 33.1 degree Celsius, respectively, as per IMD. The relative humidity level also remained high with both the observatories recording 88 per cent and 77 per cent humidity, respectively.

The southwest monsoon officially arrived in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra on June 9. During the first rainfall of the season, suburban train services were disrupted due to water-logging on the tracks. The rain also delayed take-off and landing of flights at the city airport.

Two people were killed in rain-related incidents. As per Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, catchment areas of seven reservoirs that supply water to the city are dry.

"The catchment areas have remained quite dry so far, so there is no question of reservoirs getting filled. We have sufficient stock of water till July," said an official of the hydraulic department of the BMC.

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