Monsoon likely to hit Mumbai by June 7

The southwest monsoon is likely to arrive in Mumbai, Goa and parts of Maharashtra by June 7, bringing in its wake heavy rains, the weather office said today.

"Our forecast for the next 48 hours says that the monsoon will reach southern Konkan, Goa and Mumbai by June 7 and then move towards northern parts of Maharashtra," said an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) here.

"After the onset of the monsoon, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur in the areas in the next 24 hours - that is from June 8," he said.

A warning would be issued for fishermen, asking them not to venture deep inside the Arabian Sea, the official said.

In the last few days, the metropolis has been lashed by pre-monsoon showers. Three people have died in rain-related incidents.

The monsoon, which made an onset in Kerala on May 29, three days before its scheduled arrival, has advanced in parts of Tamil Nadu, southwest, west-central, east-central, northeast of Bay of Bengal and most of the northeastern states, the IMD had said.

Private weather forecasting agency SkyMet has predicted heavy to very heavy rains in Mumbai, its adjoining districts and coastal Konkan from June 6 to 10.

"Mumbai, Dahanu, Thane, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg could witness heavy to very heavy rains and extremely heavy rains from 6-10 June.

"From 10-11 June, Surat, Valsad and adjoining districts of south Gujarat will also receive heavy to very heavy rains," SkyMet has said.