BMC has recorded data on how much it rains in city thanks to 26 new rain gauges.
BMC has recorded data on how much it rains in city thanks to 26 new rain gauges.
Where does it rain the most? For the first time, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has complete data on how much it rains all over the city.
Comprehensive rainfall data recorded by weather stations/rain gauges installed at 26 locations in the city over three months (June 26 to Aug 16) indicates that open areas and greener pastures in the suburbs attract more rain.
As a novel initiative after last year’s 26/7 deluge, BMC got weather stations installed in all municipal wards. The stations with a bucket tipping rain gauge provide 15-minute data on the rainfall activity in these areas. Until last year, rain data was only recorded at Indian Meteorological Department’s stations at Colaba and Santacruz.
According to the data, areas like Mulund, Vikhroli, Deonar in the eastern suburbs and Goregaon, Malad, Borivli and Bandra on the western side have received the most rain. Except for Bandra, all these areas are bordered by green belts and open plots. Flooding activity in and around these areas has also been high this year.
The BMC has asked Kapil Gupta, an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, to study this year’s rainfall pattern. He said, “Rainfall depends on geological factors like location, altitude, green cover, and man-made factors like urbanisation. Areas that have received more rain are well developed, surrounded by vegetation and topographically favour rain activity. The presence of water sources nearby also influences rain pattern.” Gupta felt there was a dire need to upgrade sewer systems in the eastern and western suburbs to avoid flooding.
With advice from IIT, the BMC plans to develop a support system for better flood forecasting. “We will use the data to prepare a chart highlighting the rain patterns. This will help us optimally design our flood response pattern,”said Gupta. BMC’s disaster management chief Vilas Vaidya said, “Hopefully, next year we could utilise our resources better.”
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