A parched city heaved a sigh of relief when the heavens opened up late on Saturday night accompanied by deafening thunder and lightning. Though the activity heralds the arrival of the monsoon, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said the city would only experience thundershowers this week. Rains are likely to be delayed by a couple of days.
“It (pre-monsoon thunder) is a welcome sign for the city as its presence indicates the arrival of the monsoon,” said RV Sharma, deputy director-general, IMD, Mumbai. “The multi-layered clouds formed in the sky from the past two days will result in thundershowers throughout the city for the next few days.”
The IMD said the monsoon has reached the Arabian Sea, but its progress depends on the wind push. It said the combination of thunder and corrective clouds will continue to cause thundershowers in the city.
Clouds in the northern parts of Mumbai have yet to reach saturation point due to lack of moisture; therefore,monsoon will be delayed in these areas as well.
The IMD forecast for the next two days also mentions thundershowers in Konkan and Goa, which have already been covered by the monsoon. Drought-prone Marathwada and Vidarbha will have to wait a bit longer - it would take two to three days for the rain to progress to these areas, according to the IMD.
