Mumbai wakes up to pre-monsoon showers; IMD says thunderstorms and light to moderate rain likely till June 4

Mumbai: The month of May ended with pre-monsoon showers sweeping most parts of the city between 6am and 9am on Sunday.According to civic data, the island city recorded an average rainfall of 0.61mm, while the eastern and western suburbs received 5mm and 2mm, respectively.Specific area-wise data showed that eastern suburbs witnessed the highest rainfall, with Chembur recording 27mm, Mankhurd 22mm, Ghatkopar 11mm and Kurla 10mm. In the western suburbs, the highest rainfall of 22mm was recorded in the Bandra-Kurla Complex area, followed by Santacruz with 17mm.The city saw its driest May in three years as IMD’s Santacruz observatory, representative of Mumbai, recorded 8.8mm of rainfall and the Colaba observatory, 0.6mm. In May 2025, Santacruz received 378.4mm of rainfall, and May 2024, 21.3mm.On Sunday, several Mumbaikars reported brief, but intense, rain spells accompanied by thunderstorms around 5.30am. “Andheri received a decent shower along with thunderstorms. It lasted for a few minutes. Many people woke up from their sleep and enjoyed the season’s first shower,” said Dhaval Shah, a resident of Andheri.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, light to moderate rainfall, and gusty winds at isolated places in Mumbai between June 1 and 4. A yellow alert has been issued for the period.Despite the pre-monsoon showers, temperatures remained above normal. The maximum temperature recorded at IMD’s Colaba observatory was 35.8 degrees Celsius, 1.7 degrees above normal, while Santacruz recorded 34.8 degrees Celsius, 0.9 degrees above normal. The minimum temperatures stood at 29 degrees Celsius in Colaba and 26.9 degrees Celsius in Santacruz, both above normal for this time of the year. Humidity levels also remained high, with relative humidity touching 81% at Colaba and 86% at Santacruz.The official onset date of the southwest monsoon over Mumbai is June 11. In 2025, Mumbai had witnessed its earliest-ever monsoon onset when rains arrived on May 26.