MUMBAI: The IMD on Thursday issued a 'yellow' alert for Mumbai till September 18, indicating heavy rain at isolated places, while an 'orange' alert (heavy to very heavy rain) was issued for Thane and Palghar for September 17.
The other days, up to September 18, Thane and Palghar have been placed under 'yellow' alert. Mumbai has been kept under 'yellow' alert of all days till early next week and IMD said, if required, the warnings will be upgraded.
On Thursday, parts of the city and adjoining areas like Thane and Navi Mumbai witnessed isolated heavy rain spells but Met said that as the weekend approaches, intensity of rain could increase.
An IMD officer over the alerts issued for the next few days said there is a well marked low pressure area over northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Odisha-West Bengal coasts. "This system is likely to move across Odisha and Chhattisgarh during the next two days.. Current models are indicating that unlike the wet spell the city witnessed in the first week of September, this time rains are likely to be more intense," the official said, adding that the weather bureau will upgrade the alerts if needed as the system moves closer. Amid 'heavy rain' warning at isolated places, the Colaba and Vervalli Doppler radars of IMD are non functional.
Bringing cheer to the city, water stocks in seven lakes supplying water to the city touched 97% on September 14.
With lakes nearing 100% capacity, concerns about water shortage in the city could be alleviated. "The water stocks in lakes will fill up to full capacity over the next few days... We are closely observing whether, like the previous rain spell, this time too adjoining areas of Mumbai will receive more rain than the city areas," said an official.
On September 14, the total water stock in seven lakes was 14.08 lakh million litres, a bit lower than last year's on the same date when it was 14.28 lakh million litres. The lakes need 14.47 lakh million litres till October 1 for the city to go without any water cuts for the year.
Richa Pinto is a special correspondent with The Times of India. S...
Read MoreRicha Pinto is a special correspondent with The Times of India. She covers urban governance & climate change issues. With over a decade of experience in field reporting, she has written extensively on various civic issues affecting Mumbaikars. She graduated in -journalism from the prestigious Mumbai-based St Xavier's College and later pursued a three-year Law degree (L.L.B.) with the University of Mumbai. She regularly tweets about all things that matter to Mumbai on-- @richapintoi.
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