MUMBAI BUZZ

Pre-monsoon showers to hit Mumbai next week After a gruelling few weeks of a heatwave, Mumbaikars can expect cooler temperatures post-May 21st. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), rain and thunderstorms are expected in parts of Maharashtra, including South Maharashtra, Konkan, Marathwada, and Vidarbha.  “The exact date of the onset of the monsoon over Maharashtra can be predicted after the onset of the monsoon over the Kerala mainland. Until then, a variety of factors may influence or disturb the monsoon equatorial flow,” said an official from IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre in Mumbai. Monsoon is expected to hit Kerala by…

BMC to launch 4 new initiatives for children studying in BMC schools On 11th May, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and its education department launched four new initiatives in their schools. The initiatives include awareness programs and workshops for diabetes, mental and dental health. They also include making infrastructural changes to the inside and outside of the schools to make access to them safe. The safe access to schools initiative was created as Mumbai Public Schools are usually located around areas where there is heavy traffic flow. It will cover introducing safer options for commuting to schools, and also childrens’…

Failed power lines cause outages in parts of Navi Mumbai and Panvel On 5th May, a 400 kilovolt transmission line that runs from Kharghar to Talegaon tripped, causing power outages in areas surrounding Vashi and Panvel. The outages wreaked havoc in the neighbourhood due to the hot weather. This is the 4th time in two years that the power lines have tripped, highlighting the urgent need to strengthen the transmission corridor that provides Mumbai with electricity from 5 entry points. The union power ministry has asked the state to expedite work on 3 new corridors that will ensure this doesn’t…

IMD issues orange alert over heat wave in Mumbai The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert in many parts of Maharashtra including Chandrapur, Akola, Wardha, Yavatmal etc. Mumbai too has recorded above average temperatures. On April 28th, Mumbai’s maximum temperature was 4 degrees above normal, at 37 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was 25 degrees, which is considered normal. IMD’s regional forecast suggests that sunny weather conditions will remain in coastal Maharashtra and Marathwada till May 2nd. Source: The Indian Express Read more: Rising temperatures in Mumbai call for mitigation measures, but where are they? Another…

Byculla station goes through a restoration The 125-year-old Byculla station was restored and its completion will be inaugurated on April 29th. It is one of five heritage stations in Mumbai. "This project had been initiated by 'I Love Mumbai Foundation' in memory of BJP leader Shaina NC's father, the former Mumbai Sheriff late Padmashree Nana Chudasama with the support of Bajaj Trust Groups, and Abha Narian Lambah Associates as their CSR initiative with the guidance and co-operation from Central Railway," a spokesperson said. The restoration project aimed to restore the station to its original architecture within 8 months, but because of the…

Slight spike in COVID-19 cases On April 12th, Mumbai reported 52 new COVID-19 cases, a 50% spike in the recorded cases in a day. On April 11th, 26 cases were reported. A general trend still suggests a decline in daily cases. On April 12th, there were 309 active cases in the city with the recovery rate at 98%. The positivity rate was at 0.005%, with a doubling rate of cases is 16,537 days. Since the emergence of the new XE variant some concern has risen but there is no evidence right now to prove that it is significantly different from…

Mumbai reports first case of new COVID-19 variant  On April 6th, Mumbai reported the country's first case of the XE variant of COVID-19, a more transmissible sub-variant of Omicron. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) confirmed that a 50-year-old woman who travelled from South Africa in February was found asymptomatic with the variant. On her arrival on February 10th, the woman was found negative, but on March 2nd during a routine check-up at a suburban diagnostic centre, she was tested positive for COVID-19. The XE mutant is reportedly ten times more transmissible than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, which so far was considered…

Wearing masks no longer mandatory in Mumbai On March 31st, Mumbai saw 42 news COVID cases and no casualties. The gradual decline in cases led the state executive comm to ease all COVID restrictions in Maharashtra. The state government has relaxed all curbs and checking for vaccination and social distancing will stop. Wearing masks is now voluntary and no longer a finable offence. For districts that still have a high number of cases and low vaccination rates, stricter curbs may be implemented as they do not meet the criteria to relax all restrictions. However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has…

Cases of tuberculosis decline, but vigilance high On March 25th, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that Mumbai reported 60,000 cases of tuberculosis (TB) in 2021, compared to over 43,000 in 2020. But, despite these numbers, there seems to be a marginal decline in cases of TB since before the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019, when cases were at 60,440. The BMC was vigilant of TB cases during the pandemic since those suffering could have been overlooked despite their increased vulnerability to the virus. Services for TB patients were kept running through the pandemic years, and officials…

COVID hospitalisations at an all-time low For the first time since the first wave of COVID hit the country in April 2020, hospitalisations due to the virus dropped to below 100 in Mumbai between March 14th and 19th. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), only one person was hospitalised on March 18th, taking the total count to just 74, of which seven were critical. “Even when the first and second waves were waning, the city’s daily caseload did not drop to what we are seeing now. Hospitalisations, therefore, were also on the higher side,” said additional commissioner Suresh Kakani.…