Mumbai to cool down over weekend

Pic/Satej Shinde

Mumbaikars on Thursday received respite from the sweltering heat after almost 15 days as unseasonal rain made a comeback. The city woke up to light rain and thunderstorms. More such showers will be witnessed late in the evening and at night for the next three days, meteorologists have predicted.

Citizens will be able to enjoy the summer in their favourite park or garden for a while. Meanwhile, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), in Mumbai, has predicted that the city and adjoining areas could witness cloudy skies for the rest of this week with possibilities of thunderstorms and light to moderate rains till March 18.

A woman caught in an unexpected heavy shower at Sion on Thursday night. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Thanks to the unseasonal drizzle on Thursday, the IMD's Santacruz and Colaba weather observatories recorded maximum temperatures of 34 and 32 degrees Celsius respectively, while the minimum were 26.2 and 25.8 degrees Celsius. The previous day, the maximum temperatures recorded by the Santacruz and Colaba observatories were 36 and 34 degrees Celsius respectively. This was a big dip compared to Sunday when the daytime temperatures had gone over 39 degrees. IMD officials had predicted that there was a possibility of rain during the weekend. Before the rain and thunderstorm activities, heatwave conditions were seen in Mumbai and adjoining areas.

Also read: Mumbai weather update: Light to moderate rainfall expected today, says IMD

Temperature to dip further

The thunderstorm and rain activity are likely to subside post-March 17 and after March 18 the weather will be dry again, according to climatologists. "Even as the rain activity subsides after Friday, the daytime temperature will not return to what it was last week. It is in fact likely to drop to 32-33 degrees, which is the normal temperature for this time of the year. Nights will still continue to remain warm and stuffy, giving a sign that the winter nip is over," said Rajesh Kapadia from Vagaries of the Weather, a private weather blog.

He elaborated, "The easterly winds, which caused heatwaves, have been diverted by a trough running from the north Konkan across the peninsula all the way up to Tamil Nadu. This has led to strings of thundershowers in the region in line with the trough." A meteorologist from Skymet Weather Services, a private forecasting agency, said, "The only trace of rainfall was recorded at the Santacruz and Colaba observatory. The weather activity will not be intense enough to cause any disruption and may rather remain patchy and fleeting in nature."

Skymet stated on its website: "It is rather unusual for Mumbai to have any rainfall in the month of March. It has rained only once in the past 11 years between 2011 and 2022, in March 2015. This year, the city experienced light rain on March 6 and March 7 and again in the past 24 hours. Measurable rainfall of 0.2 mm was recorded on March 8 morning."

0.2 mm
Rainfall measured on March 8 morning