Mumbai: Excess rainfall is the new normal, thanks to climate change

A man drags his scooter through a waterlogged Kurla-Ghatkopar road. File pic/Sameer Markande

Mumbai this year received 156 per cent more rainfall than the average of June and July, which are 493.1 mm and 840.7 mm, respectively. But excess rainfall in the city is not new anymore, according to the IMD. Mumbai got 25 per cent excess rain in four out of the past five years. In 2019 and 2020 alone, the cumulative monsoon rain exceeded 160 per cent.

Extreme rainfall in a short period of time has been a talking point for some time now. The Santacruz observatory of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded over 200 mm rainfall each on three days this year. The data shows that along with the number of days of extremely heavy rain, the cumulative rainfall over the city has also been increasing.

Also read: Maharashtra: Satara, Parbhani districts received 70 per cent above normal rainfall till July 31, reports IMD

Overall, the city received 2,084 mm rainfall till the end of July this year, which accounts for around 90 per cent of the season's normal showers. But this year is not the exception. The IMD compared the rainfall data of 30 years, from 1981 to 2010, and found that on an average, the city received 2,260 mm of rain in four months - June to September - in each season.

In the past 10 years, the city received more than 125 per cent rainfall in five years. Out of these five years, four are - 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020.

Jayanta Sarkar, head of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai, said, "This kind of feature is expected due to the climate change scenario. Instances of excess rainfall in a short span of time are on the rise. But to arrive at any sort of conclusion, we need a thorough study of at least 30 years of data."