After it rained almost through the day in Mumbai, India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared on Sunday that the Southwest monsoon had reached Mumbai. India Meteorological Department (IMD) also declared that the monsoon had reached Delhi. What's interesting is this is the first time in almost six decades that the monsoon reached both Mumbai and Delhi at the same time.

"It is the first time since June 21, 1961, that the monsoon arrived in Delhi and Mumbai at the same time," said DS Pai, a senior scientist at the IMD told PTI. While it hit the national capital two days before schedule, its entry into the financial capital is two weeks late, according to the Met office.

Sunil Kamble, IMD head of the Mumbai region, told CNBCTV-18: "Monsoon arrived in Mumbai on June 25 and witnessed a good start as the city witnessed good rainfall on Saturday."

As per the IMD, from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on June 24, Mumbai witnessed only 28 mm of rainfall. It was between 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm that the rainfall intensity picked up, and the city witnessed intense rainfall.

Dr Sushma Nair, scientist, IMD, Mumbai region, told CNBC TV-18, "A cyclonic circulation in the Northeast Arabian Sea, in middle levels was formed and that resulted in this good rain spell. Now, the circulation seems to be getting elongated, but it can still bring in moisture. Mumbai will witness varied rainfall between June 26 and June 29. The city will witness moderate to heavy rainfall during the next four days."

As per the IMD, 2023 is the second year to witness the most delayed monsoon ever. As per the IMD data, it was in 2019 for the first time that the monsoon was delayed to this extent. In 2019, the monsoon arrived in Mumbai on June 25. Now, 2023 has also become the year with the most delayed monsoon.

IMD said, "On June 24, at the sub-daily scale, the heaviest spell was recorded between 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm in Mumbai. Between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm, the city witnessed 88 mm rainfall."

As per the IMD website, areas like Dahisar, Borivali (E), Goregaon, Bandra, Matunga, GTB, Chandivali, Dadar and parts of Navi Mumbai witnessed more than 120 mm of rainfall on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, logged 48.3 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Sunday. The Dhansa weather station logged around 80 mm, Jafarpur and Lodi Road around 60 mm each, Ayanagar and Mungeshpur around 50 mm each and SPS Mayur Vihar 40 mm, according to the IMD.

The Met office termed the monsoon activity over Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi as 'vigorous'. According to the IMD, monsoon activity is considered 'vigorous' if the recorded rainfall is more than four times the normal or if it is fairly widespread or widespread.

With inputs from PTI

(Edited by : Vahishta Unwalla)

First Published:Jun 25, 2023 10:36 AM IST