Mumbai records wettest July ever with 1557.8 mm rainfall; IMD extends red alert till Friday
Mumbai Rains
India Meteorological Department has extended the red alert in Mumbai till Friday, 08:30 AM considering the heavy showers across the city.
According to the India Meteorological Department, Mumbai has recorded the wettest July ever, with a rainfall of 1557.8 mm. On Wednesday, the city received heavy showers throughout the day. The last wettest July recorded in Mumbai was in 2020, when IMD's Santacruz observatory, a representative of Mumbai's suburbs, registered a rainfall of 1,502 mm.
"From July 1 to July 26, 2023, morning 0830 hours (8:30 AM), Santacruz (observatory) had recorded 1,433 mm. So today, this record for the wettest July has been broken at 2030 (8:30 PM) on July 26, 2023, with the Santacruz observatory recording 1557.8 mm so far," the IMD said.
As the intense showers persist in Mumbai, the weather office upgraded the orange alert to a red alert till Friday morning. The red alert predicts heavy to very heavy rainfall in a few places and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated areas. It will be valid from Wednesday (8:00 PM) till Friday morning, covering Mumbaicity and suburban areas.
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In July 2005, Mumbai experienced 944 mm of rainfall in one day, and the total rainfall registered for the month was 1,454 mm. In 2023, the monsoon arrived in the city on June 25. Mumbai reached the first 1,000 mm mark on July 21 and the subsequent 1,000 mm rainfall in the next five days. It was the second-fastest recorded 2,000 mm rain event, taking place in 56 days. The average annual rainfall for Mumbai was 2,318 mm.
Vihar and Tansa, the two most crucial lakes of the city, overflowed on Tuesday. Tulsi, the smallest among the seven lakes, overflowed last week. Thus, three out of seven lakes have reached full capacity. Authorities have issued an alert in Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, and Kalyan, as the water level of Barvi Dam on Ulhas River has reached 70.5 metres, strikingly near to the 72.6-metre capacity level.
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On Wednesday, an electric substation caught fire on the ground floor of a residential building in Thakurwar, tripping four other substations and causing a power outage in Girgaon-Thakurdwar for about an hour. The Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation began demolishing a four-storey tilted building, The Times of India reported. On Tuesday, an NDRF team and civic staff evacuated 16 families from JNM Building, Hanuman Nagar, and Nalasopara, after the structure developed cracks.
(With inputs from agencies)
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