August starts on a dry note,rain deficit increases

Another core monsoon month,August,has begun on a largely dry note in the city taking the rain deficit in the island city to 57 per cent and 36 per cent in the suburbs.

Between 8.30 am on August 1 and 5.30 pm on Sunday,the India Meteorological Department (IMD)s Colaba weather station recorded only 2.9 mm rain and the Santacruz weather station recorded 8.1 mm. The weak monsoon conditions have driven the rain deficit between 8.30 am on June 1 and 8.30 am on Sunday to 782 mm less than normal rain in the island city and 527.7 mm less in the suburbs.

Although the Met department had on Thursday announced that rain in August would be normal with around 96 per cent of long period average,country-wide,the south-west monsoon is expected to give 15 per cent less rain than the long period average at the end of the season. Overall,atmospheric conditions are not so favourable this year as they were last year,thus we have not received as much rain, said Ajay Kumar,meteorologist,IMD Mumbai.

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Moreover,due to weak to moderate El Nino conditions expected in the next two months,the country is not likely to receive much rain in September. A huge rain deficit is likely to remain at the end of the season as shortage cannot be fulfilled now, said Kumar.

However,the city is expected to get heavy rainfall on Monday. There is a low pressure area over northwest Bay of Bengal,which is expected to move north westward and give rain over Maharashtra and Gujarat,starting Monday. We are expecting fairly widespread rain over Konkan and Goa with heavy rainfall in Mumbai on Monday, said Kumar. But the spell will not last long. Since the system is not moving towards Maharashtra,it will not give much rainfall and may last only two days.

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