Mumbai is set to welcome the southwest monsoon within the next 48 hours, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) saying conditions are favourable for its advance into the city and other parts of Maharashtra by June 24.
The weather department said the southwest monsoon has further advanced into parts of the central Arabian Sea, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar. The Northern Limit of Monsoon (NLM) currently passes through Alibag, Pune, Nizamabad, Dantewada, Balangir, Sundargarh, Chatra, Gaya and Muzaffarpur, indicating that the monsoon is inching closer to Mumbai.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday shared the IMD's nowcast warning, which forecast winds of 30-40 kmph accompanied by spells of rainfall at isolated places in Mumbai. The civic body advised residents to take necessary precautions during thunderstorms and rain.
While the monsoon has reached Alibag and Pune, the IMD said it will officially declare the onset over Mumbai only after all meteorological criteria are met. The city typically receives the monsoon around June 10, but its arrival has been delayed this year after the monsoon's progress stalled following its advance into south Konkan. Weather experts have attributed the delay to the influence of El Nino.
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The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Mumbai, has forecast generally cloudy skies with spells of rain or thundershowers over the next five days. Light to moderate rainfall is expected across Mumbai, Thane and adjoining areas, while some parts of Maharashtra could receive heavier showers as monsoon activity strengthens.
Rainfall activity has already picked up in parts of the city. Between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Monday, Mumbai recorded 17 mm of rainfall, according to BMC data. The western suburbs received 10 mm, while no rainfall was recorded in the eastern suburbs during the period.
Among the highest rainfall readings, Savitribai Phule BMC School at Worli Naka recorded 61 mm in one hour, while G-South ward in Prabhadevi received 58 mm. Adarsh Nagar School in Worli and Malabar Hill each recorded 44 mm, followed by Worli Fire Station with 42 mm and F-South ward in Parel with 41 mm. In the western suburbs, Pali Chimbai School and Supari Tank BMC School in Bandra each received 70 mm of rainfall. H-West ward office in Khar recorded 30 mm, Bandra Fire Station received 28 mm, while Banana Leaf and Juhu Dispensary recorded 25 mm each.
The IMD also said conditions remain favourable for the southwest monsoon to advance further into parts of Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh around June 23. It has forecast continued rainfall over northeast India until June 25 and over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim until June 22. At the same time, heat wave conditions are expected to persist over Vidarbha, East Madhya Pradesh and East Uttar Pradesh for the next four to five days.
Despite the recent showers, Mumbai's water reserves remain under pressure. The combined useful water stock in the seven lakes supplying drinking water to the city stood at just 8.34% of total capacity as of 6 a.m. on Monday, significantly lower than the 26.84% recorded during the corresponding period last year. The expected arrival of the southwest monsoon is likely to provide much-needed relief to the city's water supply as well as bring down humid conditions.
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