Mumbai receives steady rain, traffic affected in some areas

Mumbai witnessed continuous rains on Thursday evening, which brought down temperatures and gave relief from the oppressive heat and humidity, but caused traffic snarls, officials said.

In a 12-hour period that ended at 8pm, the island city received 25.22 millimetres rain, while it was 31.44 mm for the eastern suburbs and 25.75 mm for the western part of the metropolis. Suburban trains were running with slight delays, while traffic in some areas was affected due to water accumulation on roads, an official said.

Though monsoon arrived in Mumbai on June 9, earlier than the usual commencement date of June 11, rains have been negligible over the past fortnight.

On Thursday morning, the India Meteorological Department predicted generally cloudy sky with intermittent spells of moderate to heavy rain in the city and suburbs in the next 24 hours. At around 9pm, its 'nowcast' warned of heavy spells of rain at isolated places in Mumbai city and suburbs, Thane, Raigad over the next 3-4 hours.