Monsoon 2019: Mumbai saw highest July rainfall in over a century
IMD’s Santacruz observatory recorded 1,470.4 mm rainfall in July 2019, which was 1.9 mm more than the previous record of 1468.5 mm recorded in July 2014 (Representational Image)
In July 2019, Mumbai witnessed the highest rainfall for the month of July in over a century, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
In the period from 8:30 am on Tuesday to 8:30 am on Wednesday, IMD’s Santacruz observatory recorded 65.1mm rain while Colaba witnessed 43.4mm rain.
The Santacruz weather station further recorded 5.6 mm of rain between 8:30 am to 5:30 pm Wednesday, taking its total rainfall tally for July to 1,470.4 mm. The rainfall was 1.9 mm more than the previous record of 1468.5 mm recorded in July 2014.
Amid the continuous downpour, the city exceeded its rainfall estimate for the month back on July 20 itself and has already crossed 91 percent of seasonal rain till date.
Since the first pre-monsoon showers, IMD’s Santacruz station has logged 1,979.9 mm, just 200 mm shy of the total rainfall expected between June and September.
Moreover, both Santacruz and Colaba observatories have witnessed an excess 610 mm and 245 mm rainfall than average since June 1 respectively.
In Maharashtra, heavy rain spells are typically followed by a break of a few days. However, that did not happen for Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra this year, which led to short intense rain spells.
Private weather agency Skymet attributed the rainfall to the low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal, which strengthened westerly winds from the Arabian Sea, upper air cyclonic circulation over south Gujarat, and an off-shore trough between south Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, the IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated pockets in the city and suburbs till the weekend.
