Pre-monsoon showers soak Mumbai, disrupt trains

Welcome pre-monsoon showers soaked Mumbai giving respite from the blistering summer heat, but also disrupted its lifeline, the suburban services here on Saturday.

With the first unseasonal rain, a technical glitch in Central Railway's overhead wires near Ghatkopar hit local train services which were running behind schedule, delaying lakhs of peak hour commuters bound for their offices on Saturday morning.

On Friday night, a similar technical problem had affected the CR on its mainline near Vikhroli and Harbour Line near Sanpada hitting the evening peak hour home-bound crowds.

Gusty winds accompanied by thunder and lightning have lashed large parts of Mumbai since Friday night and light drizzles resumed in many areas on Saturday morning.

Though caught unawares, the grumbling Mumbaikars took it in their stride and continued with their normal lives as various authorities took the pre-monsoon alarm call to beef up preparations for the upcoming main rainy season.

The weather bureau has forecast a wet weekend with rain and thundershowers in and around Mumbai owing to certain localised weather phenomena.

The maximum and minimum temperatures in Mumbai were recorded at an average of 34 and 26 degrees Celsius with humidity levels hovering around 70 per cent.

Since the past few days, large parts of Maharashtra have been experiencing spells of pre-monsoon showers, with thunder, lightning and even hail in some areas.

The monsoon usually hits Mumbai by June 10 each year.

--IANS

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