But from July onwards, Monsoon rains in Mumbai took a backseat. Only 359 mm of rain was observed against the average of 800 mm in July, which is also the rainiest month for the city. In fact it (359 mm) is the lowest amount of rainfall recorded in Mumbai in last ten years.
August has also panned out in a similar fashion. For instance, the Santa Cruz Observatory in Mumbai has recorded a paltry 109.7 mm of rain so far against the monthly normal of 529.7 mm. And with only six days remaining before the month comes to an end, this target looks unachievable.
Only thrice has the city recorded two digit rainfall in the month of August so far. According to the rainfall data available with Skymet, 22 mm of rain was observed on August 6, 12 mm on August 17 and 11 mm on August 18. During the remaining days of the month, there have only been light patchy rain.
Rainfall along the West Coast and Mumbai happens mostly due to the off-shore trough, but this weather system has largely remained idle this Monsoon due to which the city has been observing poor rains.
Meanwhile, there are chances of light to moderate rain in Mumbai for next 48 hours. And whether this spell of rain will help in pushing the rainfall amount closer to the monthly normal is to be seen.
Image Credit: The Times of India