Mumbai recorded a mammoth 297 mm of rain on Tuesday — the maximum registered in a day — since the deluge of 2005, according to data from the India Meteorological Department. In July of that year, the Santacruz station measured 944 mm of rain.
Though several stations record rainfall, the ones at Santacruz and Colaba are the only ones with records dating back to the 19th century. The latter station posted 65 mm of rain as of 5:30 p.m. when official data were released for the day. The rain, which is expected to last for another 24 hours, is also the maximum recorded in a day in August since 1997 and is nearly 60% of what Mumbai normally gets through the month.
IMD officials said rains were “extremely heavy” and part of a weather system that had originated in Madhya Pradesh and was moving westwards towards Saurashtra in Gujarat.
“This cannot be compared to the Mumbai floods of 2005,” said K.J. Ramesh, Director-General, IMD. The heavy rains in Mumbai stand in contrast to the weak August rains registered across the country. The country has so far got 5% less rain than it normally gets between June 1 and August 28. This even as August — the second most important monsoon month — was supposed to get 99% of its historical, monthly average.
