Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 16: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms in Mumbai on Thursday, even as the city recently witnessed one of its earliest monsoon withdrawals in years.

According to the IMD’s daily district forecast, a green alert has been issued for Wednesday, indicating the possibility of light to moderate showers in several parts of the city.

In its latest weather bulletin, the IMD stated, “The upper air cyclonic circulation over the southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Equatorial Indian Ocean now lies over the southeast Arabian Sea and the adjoining Lakshadweep area, extending up to 5.8 km above mean sea level and tilting southward with height.”

Under its influence, a low-pressure area is likely to form over the southeast Arabian Sea and the Lakshadweep region, off the Kerala-Karnataka coasts, around October 19. “Given these synoptic conditions, cloudy weather and intermittent rain are expected as reflected in the district forecast,” a senior IMD official said.

Interestingly, the rain prediction comes despite the early withdrawal of the southwest monsoon this year. The IMD had officially declared the withdrawal from Mumbai on October 10 — the city’s earliest since 2018, when the monsoon retreated on October 6.

This year’s monsoon began unusually early, with its onset on May 26 — the earliest in 75 years. Normally, the withdrawal occurs during the second or third week of October.

Since June, Mumbai’s Santacruz observatory has recorded 3,113 mm of rainfall — 134 per cent of the annual average of 2,319 mm — while the Colaba observatory has logged 2,270 mm, accounting for 103 per cent of its annual average of 2,195 mm.

Despite the official end of the monsoon season, Mumbaikars may still experience isolated showers as weather systems continue to develop over the Arabian Sea.