Mumbai experiences cloudy sky, light showers as Cyclone Nisarga forms in Arabian Sea

Mumbai, Jun 01: Mumbaikars and people in neighbouring areas woke up to cloudy weather and light rain on Monday morning following the formation of a low pressure area in the Arabian Sea. The depression in the Arabian Sea is likely to intensify into a severe cyclone and cross the north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coasts on June 3, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.

The light showers/drizzle in parts of Mumbai city, its suburbs and neighbouring districts of Thane and Palghar on Monday morning brought some respite to people from the sweltering heat and humidity. Dharavi, the slum pocket of Mumbai, recorded the highest 31.46 mm downpour in the past 24 hours, according to IMD's website.

On Sunday also, some parts of the state, including Pune, witnessed rain with thunderstorm and gusty winds. "Maharashtra state experienced rain with thunderstorms associated with gusty winds especially in interiors in last 24 hours," IMD Mumbai's deputy director general of meteorology K S Hosalikar said in a tweet on Monday. Light rain coupled with thunder and lightning was reported in parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) since 4 am on Monday.

But, the rain intensity reduced considerably after 7 am in most parts of the city. In the last 24 hours, 0.2 mm rain was recorded in suburban Santacruz and 2 mm rain at Colaba in south Mumbai, according to IMD's website. The highest 31.46 mm rain was recorded at Dharavi during the period, it said. No untoward incident related to rain was reported, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday appealed to fishermen not to venture into the sea. The state government has stepped up safety measures along the Konkan coast to tackle any eventuality. Thackeray last week held a meeting on monsoon preparedness with officials of the government, IMD, BMC, and the Army, Navy and Air Force.