Wet spell likely in Mumbai, parts of Maharashtra till Wednesday | Mumbai News

Mumbai: Many parts of the state, including Mumbai, Konkan, northern Maharashtra and Vidarbha, will continue to see light to moderate unseasonal rain and thunderstorms till Wednesday owing to the merging of two low pressure systems and active depressions in the Arabian Sea, IMD has predicted. MMR had received showers in the past few days owing to the depressions.The weather bureau and Coast Guard have warned fishermen against venturing into the sea and have urged all fishing boats that have already set out to return to port immediately. Wind speeds are expected to touch 55kmph in some places till Wednesday.Mumbai IMD chief Shubhangi Bhute said when the sea temperature goes up post monsoon, especially in Oct, a depression gets created, which further intensifies due to the La Nina effect. “It is this combination that will give us showers.” La Nina conditions began to emerge in the waters of the central equatorial Pacific Ocean in Sept and are expected to persist till Feb 2026.IMD officials said both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are experiencing above-average warmth, which fuels cyclogenesis (formation of cyclones) and supports the development of depressions. “This is especially significant because warm surface waters supply the energy needed for such systems to intensify. The Bay of Bengal typically retains more moisture due to its geography and inflow from rivers, while the Arabian Sea usually receives dry air from nearby desert regions. However, recent climate changes have led to more moisture and rising sea temperatures in the Arabian Sea,” said an official.The current Arabian Sea depression is the result of two previous weather systems merging—one originally formed over the Bay of Bengal, moved across southern India, and then entered the Arabian Sea, where it merged with an existing low-pressure system, further intensifying rainfall activity, they said. The Bay of Bengal sees more consistent wind patterns, favourable for low-pressure systems, especially in the post-monsoon period (Oct-Nov), they added.A senior climate expert suggested that human-induced climate change is playing a role in aggravating the current weather phenomenon. “It looks obvious given the intensity and heavy depression on either side of the Indian peninsular region.”Another expert concurred. “These weather systems are unusual for this time of year, considering the official withdrawal of the southwest monsoon, but are not unprecedented due to increasing cyclonic activity in both seas brought about by climate change and rising ocean temperatures.”