Pre-monsoon shower cools parched city

A parched city heaved a sigh of relief as parts of Mumbai experienced pre-monsoon showers on Monday. The light drizzle led to the temperature falling to 33° Celsius from the average 35° Celsius this summer.

“The combination of cloudy conditions and light rains will persist for at least two more days. The maximum temperature in the city is expected to fall further to 32° Celsius in the coming days,” the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Mumbai as well as neighbouring Thane and Navi Mumbai woke up to cloudy conditions on Monday. Though the intensity of the showers that followed was not high, the drizzle was enough to make the evening pleasant.

“This is a very local phenomenon. Whenever you witness a rise in temperature, the moisture content in the air rises too, leading to pre-monsoon showers. It does not mean monsoon has arrived. But we are expecting that monsoon will arrive on time — in June,” VK Rajeev, director, IMD (western region), told DNA.