Cloud cover brings relief to sweating Mumbaikars

Mumbai may not have received any respite from the heat in the form of rainfall so far.

However, Mumbaikars  are more than happy to see the ample cloud cover in the city over the past few days.

“This is surely a sign of approaching rainfall,” said Hema Pillai, 27-year-old Mira Road resident, delighted to see the dark clouds gathering on the horizon on Tuesday.

The cloudy weather conditions, said officials at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Colaba, would continue over the next 48 hours.

The weather bureau has also predicted the possibility of light rain and thundershowers in some areas.

“This is a part of the pre-monsoon activity that has already started. This is an indication of the onset of monsoon and the end of summer,” said the duty-officer in charge at the weather bureau.
However, the cloudy weather has not brought down the soaring temperatures in the city. More than the heat, it is the humidity that seems to have touched record levels.

The humidity levels in the city remained high, with Colaba recording a humidity of 83% while Santa Cruz recorded 70% humidity, said weather officials.

On Tuesday, while Colaba recorded a maximum temperature of 36C and a minimum temperature of 29.4C, Santa Cruz recorded a maximum of 34.8C and a minimum of 29.1C.

The progress of the south west monsoon is being closely monitored, he added.

Usually, the monsoon arrives in Kerala on June 1 and in Mumbai between June 8 to June 10.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a ‘normal’ monsoon this year.