Mumbai | Heavy rains throw life out of gear; roads waterlogged, flight operations hit
There is no relief in sight as of now, as the IMD predicts that the city and suburbs are likely to receive moderate to heavy rain in next 24 hours
Heavy rain lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Friday morning, throwing traffic out of gear and crippling normal life across the city. The downpour took a toll on flight operations and also led to waterlogging on key roads.
The city witnessed an average rain of 93.16 mm in the last 24 hours. While the Eastern Suburbs reported 66.03 mm, the Western Suburbs registered 78.93 mm rainfall. There is no relief in sight as of now, as the IMD's latest forecast predicts that the city and suburbs are likely to receive moderate to heavy rain, with the possibility of very heavy rain in isolated places in the next 24 hours.
Heavy rain is expected to continue as the IMD issued an orange alert for the city for Friday and Saturday. Incidentally, the unfavourable weather conditions prevail as the city gears up for the high-profile wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant on Friday, which will see numerous dignitaries from across the world.
Intense spells of rain are very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Mumbai during the next 3-4 hours, the IMD said in its forecast at 8.30 am. A high tide of 3.8 meters is also expected around 4 pm.
A dense blanket of clouds also shrouded Mumbai, significantly reducing visibility in many areas of the city. This also affected the flight services from Mumbai Airport. “Flights are impacted due to heavy rains and air traffic congestion in #Mumbai. Do keep a tab on the flight status http://bit.ly/3DNYJqj. Wishing you happy and safe travels!,” IndiGo Airlines said.
Along with Mumbai, other parts of Maharashtra are set for heavy rain due to the gradual strengthening of westerly winds associated with the southwest monsoon.
“A gradual increase in rainfall activity is expected over parts of Maharashtra during the next 4-5 days. Widespread rainfall activity with heavy (64.5-115.5 mm) to very heavy (115.6-204.4 mm) rainfall is expected over Konkan and adjoining ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra during this period. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds are also very likely to occur over parts of Maharashtra during this period,” the IMD said.
