Grappling with warm and humid conditions for last one month or so, Mumbaikars are on the verge of receiving their first monsoon showers starting this Friday. But their joy and relief could soon turn into agony as after making its debut, rain will gradually increase and could last till 15th of June with one or two spells of heavy rain that may bring life to a standstill. It is expected that the average rainfall will be 15 to 20 mm during the period.
Rain during the period from 10th of June to 15th of June will be moderate to heavy and could cause waterlogging and traffic jams. We have observed that Monsoon rains in Mumbai during June usually occur in evening hours and hinder traffic flow on the roads and streets of Mumbai. So commuters could face problems going back home.
In Mumbai, if it rains in the range of 35 to 65 mm then it is advisable to board Mumbai locals as roads will get waterlogged and commuting would become a serious problem. But if the rain is less than 35 mm then commuters could opt for road transport.
The real phase of heavy to very heavy rain in Mumbai would start by the end of month and would continue till 4th of July. But if Mumbaikars keep themselves abreast with rain forecasts then they could save themselves from the pain of getting stuck in traffic snarls.
Monsoon in Mumbai was deficient last year during the month but going by the early monsoon prediction this year, it is expected to receive just above average rainfall during the month of June and above average rainfall in the month of July. The average rainfall for the month of July is 799.7 mm with 23.2 numbers of rainy days.
Last year monsoon was almost a week late and the city received the first showers on 17th of June. The highest rainfall in a day was recorded at 75.4 mm on 28th of the month. In total, the month of June in 2012 received 298.5 mm much less than the average of 523 mm.
In 2011, the southwest monsoon reached the Mumbai coast on 5th of June and gave rainfall in excess of 661 mm with the heaviest rainy day recorded on 12th of June at 184.4 mm.
Photograph by Anuradha Sengupta
