Don’t forget your umbrella tomorrow

Pre-monsoon shower to hit Mumbai early this week, say Meteorological Department officials

Don't forget your umbrella tomorrow

Pre-monsoon shower to hit Mumbai early this week, say Meteorological Department officials

Mumbaiites will soon have a short but welcome respite from the unbearable heat that the city has been facing over the past three weeks. With temperatures hovering around 35 Celsius on Saturday, the Regional Meteorological Centre has predicted light showers early this week that will last for a few days. The monsoon however will arrive early next month, as expected. "This is a local phenomena. Whenever the temperature increases, moisture in the air rises as well, which leads to showers. For the next 48 hours, the skies will be cloudy and light showers are expected," said VA Raju, director, Indian Meteorological Department.

Raju added that the monsoon is expected to be on time this year and will hit the city by early June.
Colaba recorded a maximum temperature of 35 Celsius while in Santacruz, it went up to 33 Celsius. The humidity level is Colaba was 57 per cent while it was 60 per cent in Santacruz on Saturday afternoon.

Cause for concern
While a light spell is just what the city might seem to need, doctors warn that people need to beware of viral and respiratory infections that could accompany the change of weather.u00a0u00a0"Pre-monsoon showers result in an increase in the level of humidity and pollutants in the atmosphere are brought down by the rains. It is advisable to take precautions and not ignore fever or cough conditions that prevail beyond 48 hours," advised Dr Samir Garde of SL Raheja Hospital, Mahim. "We are also seeing a rise in malaria cases even before the rains have hit the city," he warned.

Crops safe
However, State Commissioner for Agriculture Prabhakar Deshmukh said that the unexpected spell of rains will not affect any crops. Mangoes, the most anticipated fruits of the season won't face any damage either, he said. Sanjay Pansare, joint president of Fruit and Merchant Association at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee agreed and said that the crops have already been harvested therefore, the showers expected this week won't cause any losses for the farmers. The prices of vegetables and fruits will not increase, nor will the quality of mangoes be affected, Pansare assured us.

While the rains are expected to hit the city on time, the withdrawal of the monsoon will be delayed just as it has been in the past five years. Normally, rains are supposed to withdraw from the western coast by the end of September, but since 2006, they have only left the city in October. Last year, the monsoon hit the city on June 14 and retreated on October 24.