MAPUSA
After almost two weeks of continuous rain, the sun popped out and dispelled dark clouds over the capital city and other areas in the State on Monday, bringing much relief to the citizenry.
The Met department has forecast light to moderate rainfall at most places for the next four days.
The let up in the downpour came as a respite to the residents as heavy rain had thrown life out of gear, leading to flooding of low-lying areas and traffic snarls. The fire station personnel were also kept on their toes as incidents of tree falling were reported from different places.
Virtually dry, the State saw only some light rainfall throughout the day.
In fact, five rain gauge stations reported less than 5 mm rainfall on Thursday until 5.30 pm. The capital city received just 2 mm rainfall while Margao saw just 1.5 mm. Similarly, Valpoi reported 3.5 mm rainfall while Pernem and Mapusa received just 1 mm and 1.5 mm respectively.
Interestingly, there was no cloud formation till late in the evening which indicated less possibility of rainfall late in the night.
“Basically on Sunday and Monday morning we received normal rainfall. In fact, every day the rainfall is different. Some days there are weak monsoon conditions while some days it will be active. Similarly, we also experience normal monsoon and sometimes there is a break,” said Dr Ramesh Kumar, a meteorologist.
He opined that light to moderate rainfall was quite enough for the State as the rain water will seep in and recharge the groundwater.
“We do not require intense or extreme rainfall events which are hazardous and can create flood like situations and also affect more under the changed Land Use Land Change (LULC) scenario,” he said.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted light to moderate rainfall from July 11 to 14. It has also warned of a possibility of heavy rainfall at isolated places for the next four days.
With dry conditions prevailing in the State, Panaji reported maximum temperature at 30.9 degree Celsius even as humidity was at 97 percent.
