June 25 (India Today) – The much-awaited monsoon finally reached Mumbai, covering the entire state of Maharashtra.
Declaring onset of monsoon over Mumbai, the India Meteorological Department said, “Southwest monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of central Arabian Sea, Konkan and Maharashtra, some parts of north Arabian sea and south Gujarat and some more parts of Madhya Pradesh.”
The monsoon, which generally arrives in Mumbai on June 10 every year, is behind schedule by more than two weeks, which is the longest such delay in the last ten years. If the monsoon fails to keep its date with Mumbai Tuesday, the citizens might have to face another cut in water supply, a civic body official said.
“Monsoon onset declared over Mumbai today covering entire Maharashtra today by IMD,” deputy director general of meteorology, India Meteorology Department (IMD), Mumbai, K S Hosalikar, said in a tweet. He also said the northern limit of the south-west monsoon is expected to cover not only Mumbai but also entire Maharashtra, besides some parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
When asked about the causes behind the longest delay in the last ten years in arrival of monsoon in Mumbai, an IMD official attributed it to the late onset over Kerala and the cyclone “Vayu”.
In 2009, monsoon had arrived on June 27, nearly ten days behind schedule. The second-longest delay since 2009 was in 2016, when monsoon had arrived on June 20.
A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Tuesday said Mumbaikars might have to face another water cut if the monsoon doesn’t arrive Tuesday.
“The water levels in the reservoirs supplying water to Mumbai are fast depleting and almost 5 per cent water is left in them. Any further delay in monsoon may spell trouble for the city as administration may have to impose further water cut,” he said, adding that a 10 per cent water cut is already in the force.
The Lucknow centre of the MeT office has meanwhile said thunderstorm and lightning accompanied with rain are very likely to occur at isolated places over Pratapgarh, Sultanpur, Amethi, Ayodhya, Raebareli districts and adjoining areas.
It was a humid morning in Delhi on Tuesday with the weather office predicting gusty winds and thunderstorm towards the evening.
“The minimum temperature at 8.30 am was 27.8 degrees Celsius while the humidity level was 72 per cent,” a MeT official said. The afternoon would see overcast conditions and, the official said, adding, “Gusty winds and thunderstorm are likely towards the evening.”
The maximum and minimum temperatures will hover around 34 and 26 degrees Celsius respectively.
On Monday, Delhi recorded a high of 35.4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, and a low of 27.4 degrees Celsius. Humidity levels oscillated between 55 and 78 percent.
On Monday, monsoon hit the eastern and southern parts of Madhya Pradesh. It is likely to cover more parts of the state in the next 48 hours, IMD Bhopal Office Duty Officer Gurudutt Mishra had said.
He had told PTI that Balaghat, Mandla, Chhindwara and Khandwa districts of MP experienced monsoon rains as well as parts of Jabalpur, Indore and Ujjain divisions in the last 24 hours.
Mishra said heavy rainfall is expected in Ratlam, Jhabua, Alirajpur, Dhar, Barwani, Ujjain, Agar-Malwa and Indore districts in the next 48 hours.
