The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an `orange alert` for Mumbai, its suburbs, and nearby districts including Thane, Palghar, and Raigad districts of Maharashtra.
The weather department has issued an alert for moderate to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms expected in the next three hours in parts of Maharashtra.
In a nowcast warning issued at 2 pm on Sunday, June 15, the IMD Mumbai said, “Moderate to intense spells of rain very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Raigad, Mumbai, Palghar, Thane during next 3-4 hours.”
Earlier in the day, the weather department, in its bulletin had stated that Mumbai was likely to experience heavy rainfall at isolated locations.
The weather department had forecasted heavy showers at isolated places.
The IMD`s Santacruz observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 33.5 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 26.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Colaba observatory reported a high of 32 degrees Celsius and a low of 24.4 degrees Celsius, as per the latest Mumbai weather updates.
Tidal activity will also be significant, with a high tide expected at 2:52 PM today, reaching a height of 4.27 meters. Another high tide is anticipated in the early hours of tomorrow, June 16, at 2:37 AM, measuring 3.55 meters.
Low tide levels for today are expected at 8:55 PM at 1.91 meters, with tomorrow’s low tide forecast at 8:20 AM at 1.06 meters.
The city recorded moderate rainfall in the last 24 hours, with Colaba receiving 31 mm, the Eastern Suburbs recording 21 mm, and the Western Suburbs 20 mm between 8 am on June 14 and 8 am on Sunday, June 15.
Parts of Mumbai witnessed heavy showers overnight along with thunder and lightning. The rains eased by morning, with only light showers, and no major waterlogging was reported.
Meanwhile, Mumbai has seen a sharp spike in the number of days that it receives rainfall over 100 mm in the past 3 years, according to a study conducted by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Disaster Management Department. From 13 such days in 2022 to 14 days in 2023, and 21 days during the monsoon season of 2024, the city has recorded an increase of 61 per cent. This number exceeds the annual average of 16 days a year where rainfall is recorded above 100 mm within a day. For comparison, Mumbai receives an annual rainfall of about 2100 mm in the monsoon months, according to official data.
The study has also revealed that the average of high-intensity rainfall has increased for Mumbai during this time. In the last six years, the average high intensity rainfall received increased to 182 mm, from 131 mm, in a short span of four hours. On July 25, 2024, the city received 267 mm of rainfall in just four hours, compared to 132 mm of rainfall on July 27, 2023, and on July 30, 2022. In the past 10 years, high intensity rainfall in four hours occurred 28 times.
