Pre-monsoon showers hit Mumbai

After facing the sweltering sun for the last few months, Mumbaikars were in for a pleasant surprise after a brief shower hit the city on Tuesday evening. However, according to the weather department, this is was a pre-monsoon thundershower and rains are likely to hit the city around June 10.

“This is normal pre-monsoon activity. Lightning with thundershower and gusty winds are a regular phenomenon before the advent of monsoon,” said Dr CVV Bhadram, deputy director general, regional meteorological centre, Mumbai. “However, it will be another week before monsoon arrives in the city.”

On Tuesday, the city received around 2mm rain. However, it did not rain in the suburbs. “The rains will bring marginal relief from the heat as it did not last long. The maximum temperature in the city is likely to be around 34C that is 2 degree above normal and humidity will be around 65 percentile that is 9 per cent below normal,” said a weather bureau official.

However, the recent shower comes as sign for the civic authorities and the weather bureau to pull up their socks.

On the other hand, Mumbaikars are excited to have some respite from the sultry weather. “I love the sweet smell of earth after the first shower. My friends and I went out and drove around Colaba for over an hour. We had a lot of fun in the rain,” said Trishna Kaushik, a college student.