Thunder, showers, set to continue

The ferocious pre-monsoon showers are set to continue, according to officials from the Meteorological department. Rain, accompanied by thunder, will continue in parts of the city for the next 48 hours. The maximum temperature could go upto 32 degrees Celsius and the minimum will be 24 degrees Celsius. Currently, humidity levels in the city have shot up to 89 per cent in Santacruz and 85 per cent in Colaba.


Pic/ Bipin Kokate

In the last 24 hours, Santacruz has recorded 35.0 millimeters of rainfall and Colaba 18.0. R V Sharma, deputy director (western region) of the Indian Meteorological Department, says, "These are pre monsoon showers which are a result of the heat and the condensation of moisture in the air. They are known as monsoon pools. The monsoon is expected to hit the city on June 10. Until then, thunder and lighting will continue."

This year, the rains have arrived two days earlier than predicted. Not that people are complaining. Engineering student Devika Ghedia says, "My exams are on at the moment and have to travel a lot, which is inconvenient in the rains. But the showers have also bought down the temperature considerably, which has reduced my irritation."

The city's lakewater levels too are rising because of the early showers, which means the BMC will not need to carry out any desalination of sea water or rain water harvesting, unlike last year. On June 4 last year, the total amount of usable water collected in the lakes was 53,326 million litres. This year on the same day, the heavy pre monsoon showers have contributed to an already high lakewater level, taking it to 2,07245 million litres. Bhatsa Lake received the highest measure of rain, at 42 mm.