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Reeling from a very hot spell, Mumbai on Tuesday evening experienced a bout of sudden shower that led to a dip in temperatures. But the sudden downpour severely disrupted road and suburban train services

Mumbai: A sudden heavy downpour lashed the metropolis on Tuesday evening, severely disrupting road and suburban train services and inconveniencing lakhs of commuters and office goers.

At around 6.30 pm, the suburbs as well as the city experienced thunderstorms along with rains. While the showers led to a dip in the night temperatures, it also left many Mumbaikars stranded.

The temperature on Tuesday morning was around 36 degree Celsius. The Meteorological Department had predicted thunder and rains even for the coming 24 hours in and around the city. In a mere half-hour, the city received nearly 80 millimetres of rainfall.

It should be noted that the city has been in the throes of heat wave with temperatures in the last two days hovering around 34 to 37 degrees celsius.

The downpour caused water logging at various areas in the city. It also led to Central Railway services being disrupted on the Main and Harbour lines. While the Harbour line service was partially shut down between CST and Andheri, and CST to Wadala.

The CST to Wadala line has been affected due to a part of the Cotton Green station roof falling on an overhead wire disrupting power supply.

On the Main line, service between Currey Road and Byculla station has been hit with slow train services between Parel and Byculla being shut since 7.10 and all slow trains being diverted on to the fast track.

The sudden rainfall also led to monorail services between Wadala and Chembur being slowed down as a precautionary measure.

Confirming the same, an official from Scoomi said, "Due to sudden rain and storm we have slowed down the monorail services . Due to the rains we faced a couple of delays. However, the services were not canceled and at present the services have been brought back to normal."

Heavy winds led to trees falling in many parts of the city. The rain and wind also caused the dislocation of asbestos sheet at Currey Road station.

Mumbaikars were severely inconvenienced with traffic jams being reported across the city due to the unexpected rains.
Speaking to mid-day, an official from the fire department said, "There was utter chaos in the office due to the rains as nearly 200 tress fell due to the rains."

The Meteorological Department has predicted more thunder and rain for the next 24 hours in and around the city.

Heavy downpour brings relief from heat

With the city having witnessed the hottest day in September since 1951 yesterday, with Santa Cruz weather station
registering temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, the rains have helped bring a dip in temperatures.

"Mumbai had been witnessing high temperatures since the last few days, which led to the formation of thunder clouds. But this is a very temporary phenomenon and will subside very soon," V K Rajeev, Director (Weather Forecasting) of Mumbai IMD said.

"The sudden rains brought some respite from the scorching heat and Mumbaikars can now expect temperature levels to come down in the coming days," he said.

Today, while Santa Cruz weather station recorded the maximum temperature of 36.5 degrees Celsius, Colaba recorded 33.8 degrees Celsius.

Earlier, the city’s highest temperature in September of 36.4 degrees Celsius was recorded in 1972.

(with inputs from PTI)