Unseasonal rain in Mumbai; IMD says highest precipitation so far in April

Unseasonal rain coupled with lightning and thunderstorm lashed parts of Mumbai in the wee hours of Thursday, bringing some respite from the hot and humid weather in the city, civic officials said.

In the last 24 hours, Mumbai recorded 14.8 mm rainfall, the highest precipitation so far in April, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The rainfall was a localised event and only western suburbs of the city received showers, IMD scientist Sushma Nair said.

The Santacruz weather station received 14.8 mm of rainfall. This is the highest rainfall recorded in the city in April. Earlier, the all-time highest rainfall received by the city was 7.2 mm on April 22, 1974, Nair said.

The Colaba weather station, which covers the island city, did not record any rainfall, she said.

The city witnessed heavy showers with lightning and thunder between 1 am to 2 am, civic officials said.

The Malwani fire station and Goregaon recorded 21 mm rainfall each, Borivali fire station 19 mm, HBT Trauma Care Hospital (Jogeshwari) 17 mm, Marol fire station 14 mm and Kandivali fire station 12 mm, an official said.

Due to intense rain for a brief period, there was accumulation of water in some low lying areas.

The civic body said there was no complaint of heavy waterlogging anywhere in the city and suburbs.

Some citizens said thunderstorm and strong winds hit parts of Mumbai and as a result, trees and branches fell in some areas like Marol. The tin sheets of some houses were also blown away by the wind in Marol.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), there was no report of any injury due to the rain.

The public transport services, including the local trains and BEST buses, were running normally in the city and suburbs.