Heavy rainfall - 50-70 mm - along with lightning and thunder expected to continue till July 7, with not more than 2 hours of sunshine every afternoon
Mahesh Palawat
Mumbaikars, don't let Google Weather's prediction of "thunderstorm" for the city worry you. According to Skymet Weather Forecast's Chief Meteorologist Mahesh Palawat, as terrifying as it may sound, the chance of it causing any damage or fatality is slim.
'No need to panic'
Google currently shows the weather for the next 10 days as "thunderstorm". "This type of weather activity is because of what we call thundercloud or vertically developed clouds," Palawat explained to mid-day.
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"These clouds are capable of producing lightning and thunder, but as we are in a coastal region, the chances of fatalities is very low. Cloud to earth lightning is a common phenomenon in Odisha, Bihar as well as other eastern parts of the country. In Mumbai, however, there will be heavy lightning and thunder but accompanied by rain, making it a regular heavy shower. So, there is no need to panic."
What's ahead?
Palawat added, "On and off rainfall will continue till July 7, during early mornings and late afternoons, carrying on into the night, These will be anywhere between 50 mm and 70 mm. There will be a break of two to three hours after 10 am, when the sun will be out for a while, but again, cloud cover will build up and showers will commence.
"After July 7, there will be a drastic reduction in the intensity of rainfall; there will be sporadic showers, and weather will remain comfortable."
Data on fingertips
Since last year, Skymet and the state have been involved in a private-public partnership called 'Mahavedh'. As a part of this, more than 2,000 automatic weather stations have been installed in nearly every tehsil across the state.
"We are getting data at 10-minute intervals from these weather stations, which includes wind direction, humidity, and maximum and minimum temperatures. The government disseminates the data to farmers and various agencies. Most of the machines are located in rural areas, because a lot of the data caters to farmers; it is also used to predict weather conditions across the state," said Palawat.
"We hand over a week-long forecast in tabular and graph format, with a district-wise breakdown, to them [government] every Monday. This helps farmers [who can use the Skymet or Mahavedh app], because if rainfall is expected in the next 24-48 hours, they will refrain from spraying their crops with pesticides it avoid it getting washed away."
Also read: Mumbai Rain: Heavy showers, lack of transport affect students, teachers
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