Mumbaikars woke up today to witness heavy downpour, flooding roads and railway lines. Air traffic getting disrupted with congestions and delays. Low lying areas and streets getting inundated. Downpour intensified in the early morning hours resulting traffic snarls for the commuters. Santacruz observatory amassed 116mm rainfall till 8:30 am, the third three digit rainfall in 24 hours during first half of July. The rains continue unabated and may become heavier through the day.
As predicted, the heavy rainfall was expected to commence early on the weekend and go on for next 5-6 days. Intermittent to continuous heavy rains are likely with short breaks only. Situation may compound further with high tide in the afternoon around 4 p.m. Water will not find any easy exit during the tide and rather reverse flow will worsen the situation. Saturated surfaces may not absorb any further inflow of water and deepen the waterlogged and stagnated pools.
The intensity and spread of rains will increase further and the wet spell will carry on till mid-week next. There could be slight breather, wherein the rain intensity may reduce marginally on 17th and 18thJuly. However, after this short breather, rains will become forceful and damaging, once again, after 19thJuly. An update on the likely conditions will be more reliable after 48 hours. In all probabilities, Mumbai will catch up with its normal monthly rainfall during the current spell itself.
Image Credit: The Indian Express