Mumbai gets 43% more, country 3% less

A deficient monsoon last year triggered a serious water crisis in Mumbai. As if to make amends, rains witnessed so far in the city this year have been above expected levels — in fact, 43% above normal, according to the Indian Meteorological department (IMD).Since June 1, the Colaba observatory has recorded rainfall of 479mm, while the one at Santa Cruz has witnessed 345mm rainfall. IMD officials added that normal rainfall (long period average) expected around this time is 384mm at Colaba, and 262mm in Santa Cruz.Interestingly, despite surplus rains witnessed in the city, the overall countrywide monsoon has been below normal. According to an IMD communiqué, the seasonal rainfall for the country is 3% below the normal. The data was last corrected on June 17. It also said that rainfall is deficient in 30% of the 36 meteorological subdivisions.

Apart from Konkan and Goa divisions, which cover the Mumbai region, rainfall has so far been excess in 10 other division across the country. Most of these are located in the southern peninsula. It is normal in the remaining 12 divisions. Going by the IMD forecast, rain pattern is likely to remain unchanged for the coming week. The IMD has forecast widespread rain activity along the west coast and north-eastern states, whereas subdued rainfall activity is expected in other areas. According to the IMD, there is no low pressure formation in the Bay of Bengal, causing a temporary weakening of the monsoon current. But a strong pressure gradient over the west coast will trigger heavy to very heavy rains over Mumbai, Konkan and Goa in the coming week. In Mumbai, however, the weekend was largely dry and hardly any rainfall was recorded. The rains took a breather even over all the six catchments on Sunday, though they grew appreciably during the last week. The Bhatsa catchment recorded the most rainfall, at 35 mm.