Pre-monsoon showers bring relief from high temperature, push surplus rainfall to 46%

Panaji: Goa received its first significant pre-monsoon showers of the season, with the state capital Panaji recording 11.4mm rainfall till 8.30am on Monday after strong convection and high humidity levels triggered widespread thunderstorms across the state. This has dramatically improved the seasonal rainfall status. Goa’s pre-monsoon rainfall, which was at a 43% deficit till a day ago, shifted to a 46% excess by Monday morning.

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said work force entering the state for work during the monsoon will be screened, as they are often found to be carriers of malaria.

“Health department will keep checking for vector-borne diseases. Before renting out premises, blood tests should be compulsorily conducted and proper tenant verification must be carried out,” Sawant said.

The chief minister said that the state machinery is ready for monsoon, and all pre-monsoon work has been completed to avoid any loss of life. Sawant chaired a meeting of the state disaster management at the ministerial block at Porvorim.

He said that state govt has provided between Rs 35,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh to all urban civic bodies, including the Corporation of the City of Panaji. “We have directed the municipal bodies to submit details of the work undertaken as part of monsoon preparedness,” Sawant said, adding that fishermen should not venture into the sea during the monsoon.

The chief minister said that departments have been directed to work on accident-prone zones to avoid accidents in monsoon. He urged the people not to go swimming at mining pits and laterite stone quarries. Sawant said four ambulances have been procured to react in a timely manner in case of accidents on national highways.

He said state govt has tied up with the Navy to provide divers to save people from drowning in case of floods. He added that Goa State Pollution Control Board and collector will act in case there is any oil spill on the beaches. Sawant said emergency response support system response time has been reduced to 9 minutes from 18 minutes.

The chief minister said that around Rs 6 crore has been disbursed to those who faced property loss and others in monsoon. He said that a centre has been established in the state at the cost of Rs 38 crore to communicate in case of disaster.

Sawant said state govt will restructure disaster management authority to work exclusively during the monsoon. He said that all 12 control rooms for disaster management have been activated.


After fluctuating between 28-29 degree C since the last week of April, the minimum temperature on Monday fell to 25 degree C in Panaji and 24 degree C in Mormugao.

Meteorologist and retired chief scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), M R Ramesh Kumar, attributed the sudden weather activity to strong atmospheric convection combined with high humidity levels prevailing over the state’s coast. “The strong convection with high humidities has given rise to several thunderstorms all over Goa,” he said.

Several rain gauge stations across Goa recorded substantial rainfall during the spell. Quepem emerged as the wettest location, receiving 78mm of rainfall in a single day. Canacona recorded 49.2mm, while Dharbandora registered 48.2mm during the same period.

The cumulative rainfall figures for the pre-monsoon season indicate that Quepem has so far recorded 116.8mm of rainfall this season, the highest in Goa, followed by Dharbandora with 84mm till Monday morning.

The rainfall and accompanying thunderstorms have provided much-needed respite to residents who were experiencing scorching summer heat and humidity over the past several days. However, maximum temperatures across the state barely declined following the showers, as Panaji recorded 34.3 degree C and Mormugao recorded 34.8 degree C.

The India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for May 19, warning of light to moderate rainfall or thundershowers during late evening and night hours. The thunderstorms are likely to be accompanied by lightning, gusty winds (30-40 kmph) at isolated places over Goa.