On the first day of the extended lockdown till June 30, Mumbai and several parts of Maharashtra including Navi Mumbai, Thane, Mira-Bhayander and Pune received first spell of showers amid the COVID-19 crisis.
In its forecast, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said that Mumbai along with Thane and Palghar will experience rain and thunder showers from June 1 to June 4. The weather agency also said that there is a possibility of heavy to very heavy rain taking place in several parts of Mumbai and Thane on June 3 and June 4.
The IMD also issued a a red warning for Palghar on June 3 and June 4 with probability of extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places.
In photo: A man walks with an umbrella in Wadala as the city received first spell of rain amid lockdown.
Weather agency Skymet said that Maharashtra and Gujarat coast will experience rough sea conditions between June 2 and 5. It further said that the wave height will be around 12 to 16 feet and winds will be 60 to 70 kmph gusting to 80 and 90 mph.
On Monday, IMD said that the low pressure area which has been forming in the Arabian Sea may develop into a cyclonic storm 'Nisarga' and is likely to hit North Maharashtra and Gujarat coast on June 3. Paying heed to the cyclonic warnings, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray requested the fishermen to not venture into the sea.
The development of cyclone 'Nisarga' moving towards Maharashtra and Gujarat coasts comes almost after eleven days after 'Amphan' pummeled four districts of Bengal in the fiercest cyclone in the region in a century, that left 86 people dead and rendered ten million people homeless.
According to IMD's scientist Ananda Kumar Das, the depression in the Arabian Sea is located about 370 kilometres southwest of Goa's Panjim, 690 kilometres south-southwest of Mumbai and 920 kilometres south-south-west of Gujarat's Surat. Interestingly, IMD's cyclone track shows that Nisarga will cross very close to the Mumbai coast while entering the land.
Later in the day, IMD said that the cyclonic storm 'Nisarga' will affect the coastal districts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, more than Gujarat and other neighbouring states. IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that Maharashtra coastal districts such as Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Thane, Raigad, Mumbai and Palghar will be more affected by the cyclone. He also said that the depression is currently 690 km away from Mumbai.
Due to the rising depression in the Arabian sea which is termed as cyclone 'Nisarga', both Maharashtra and Gujarat are on pre-cyclone alert as very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is expected in parts of the states on June 3 and June 4.
In photo: A morning walker was snapped without face mask at Pali Hill in Bandra amid lockdown in the city
In wake of the cyclonic storm 'Nisarga', the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), on Monday deployed nine teams in Maharashtra. Of the nine teams, three teams have been deployed in Mumbai, two in Palghar and one each in Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. Besides carrying out surveys in the coastal areas, the NDRF teams have been briefed, trained and equipped to deal with the double disaster.
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Home Minister Amit Shah over the development of cyclone 'Nisarga' moving towards Maharashtra. While the preparations were reviewed, the CM said that alert has been issued to places including Mumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg. He also said that the state's disaster management, relief, and rehabilitation department is fully prepared to deal with the cyclone.
In photo: A man's reflection captured through the water accumulated by the first showers of rains amid lockdown in the city.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), on Tuesday took to Twitter and said that the tropical storm Nisarga is most likely to intensify into a "severe cyclonic storm" in the next 24 hours and is expected to make landfall close to Mumbai by June 3.
Amid the rising development of cyclonic storm 'Nisarga', Maharashtra reported a total of 2,361 new cases of coronavirus and 76 deaths on the day 1 of the extended lockdown till June 30. With this the total number of COVID-19 in the state has gone up to 70,013, State Health Department said.
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