Mumbai registers highest ever 24-hour rainfall for April as temperature drops

Days after Mumbai saw a spike in mercury, temperatures dropped down in parts of the city owing to unseasonal rains coupled with lightning and thunderstorms.

Showers were reported mainly from the northern and western suburbs, including Borivali, Bhayandar, Malad, Goregaon, Andheri, Naigaon, Vasai, Juhu and Mira Road.

The city’s base weather station, in Santacruz, received 15mm of rain as of 8:30am on Thursday, which is the most amount of rainfall received by Mumbai in 24 hours for the month of April, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.

Also Read: Widespread rainfall in Mumbai keeps city’s AQI ‘satisfactory’

The sudden downpour brought down the morning’s minimum temperature to 22.2°C, down from 25.8°C a day prior, falling to below normal for the first time in at least 10 days.

The showers were also accompanied by strong, gusty winds from the north-northwest direction at a speed of about 6.3km/hr.

IMD’s coastal station in Colaba, however, did not see any rainfall.

“Thunder and lightning means instability in the atmosphere. Westerly winds from the Arabian Sea are moisture bearing, and when they blow over the land which has high temperatures, it creates the perfect situation for a convective thunderstorm. There is a chance of more light to moderate showers for Mumbai and other parts of the Konkan in coming days,” said an IMD official.

According to the IMD’s seven-day forecast for Santacruz, the city will see partly cloudy skies over the next week.

Maximum temperature will hover between 34-35°C while the minimum temperature will remain between 24-25°C.