Mumbai gets 37% more rain in July this year – Hindustan Times

With Mumbai recording a total of 1,125.9mm rain in the past month alone, this July marks the fourth consecutive year in which monthly rains have crossed the 1000mm mark, as opposed to the monthly normal of 827mm, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD). This year, July rainfall in the city was 37% in excess of the monthly normal or long-period average, as per data from the IMD’s monitoring station in Santacruz, representative of the city and suburbs.

Though the intensity of rains began to subside after July 21, the previous week saw the city grapple with two consecutive, atypical thunderstorms which dumped more than 500mm rain over the city. A convective thunderstorm, described by meteorologists as “monstrous”, deposited a whopping 235mm rain between 12am and 4am on July 18, less than 48 hours after a similar high rainfall event resulted in the season’s highest daily rainfall on July 16 at 253mm.

During the week starting July 15, the city received 689.9mm rain, which is 251% in excess of the weekly normal amount for the same period (196.7mm).

In July, Mumbai also crossed the 2,000-mm rainfall mark for the entire monsoon season from June to September, with receiving 2,087.2mm rain since June 1. This is 94.6% of the monsoon long-period average of 2,205mm rain as per IMD. Of this, 961.4mm was recorded in June, which is also more than the monthly normal of 505mm.

As the monsoon enters its third month, Mumbai is likely to see a drier start to August due to lack of typical synoptic features which drive precipitation over the city, such as a vigorous offshore trough and low-pressure systems over the Bay of Bengal.

An official with IMD’s regional forecasting centre in Mumbai said, “There is a possibility of monsoon revival between August 5 and 7, but the next spate of heavy downpours is at least another 10 to 12 days away.” With the monsoon oscillation moving northward, a break phase in the monsoon is expected next week not only in Mumbai but across the state as well as other parts of western and central India, the IMD’s long-range forecast indicates.

Mumbai has been placed under a green alert by IMD till at least August 5. Temperatures are expected to hover at a maximum of 31 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 26 degrees Celsius for at least the next week. Remaining coastal districts in Maharashtra which were recently battered by heavy rains leading to flooding are also expected to see light to moderate rain with isolated heavy showers during the first week of August.