Rainfall in Mumbai sporadic,but causes ailments aplenty

“Apart from the illnesses caused by mosquitoes like malaria and dengue,numerous cases of gastroenteritis,amoebiasis,leptospirosis,hepatitis E and jaundice have been reported. Over 200 people have been admitted for jaundice and about 1,000 for gastroenteritis. There have been quite a few cases of hepatitis E in the past few days which might be a cause of concern,” said Dr AA Bandiwadekar,executive health official,BMC. Even though jaundice and gastroenteritis cases are not as high as last year,the city has reported two deaths from jaundice and two deaths from gastroenteritis in June itself.

Most of these are contracted after consuming contaminated water or food. “During the rains,the temperature and humidity levels are ideal for growth of disease-causing bacteria and fungus,which then get transferred into drinking water and cause diseases like jaundice and typhoid,“ said Dr Smita Aboli of KEM Hospital. “When a person suffers from something as minor as a common cold ,the immunity of the system is low,which makes the person susceptible to other diseases like pneumonia and jaundice. This could lead to something much more serious.”

The BMC claims to be doing its bit to prevent the further spread of monsoon-related diseases. “We distribute chlorine tablets on a regular basis in slum areas to kill the germs in drinking water and make it potable. We have also distributed advisory notes to everyone which lists the basic precautionary measures,” said Dr Arun Bamne,joint health executive,BMC.

The most important precautionary measure is to maintain personal hygiene. “Roadside food and drinks should be avoided as far as possible. Keep yourself dry at all times and carry an extra pair of clothes. Take preventive anti-bacterium medicine if you have to wade through dirty water. Don’t ignore early symptoms of headaches,fever and chills,” said Aboli.

June rain figures dip,but don’t fret: IMD

EVEN though Mumbai’s rainfall figures for June are considerably lower than the same time last year,weather officials say there is no reason to worry.

Total rainfall in Colaba in June fell by more than 50 per cent this year,from 948.4 mm in 2010 to 461.2 mm this year,as per the IMD data. Figures for Santacruz also fell marginally as it recorded 662.0 mm this month down from 719.4 mm last year.

“There is no cause for concern because rainfall in Santacruz till June has been more than its season normal (524.7 mm) and Colaba is also only slightly less than its normal (553.7 mm). There is still time for monsoon to recover and we expect weather systems,which bring rain to the city,to form soon,” said V K Rajeev,director,IMD.

The IMD may be right in its optimism as a study of the June rainfall data from 2004 to 2010 revealed that this year’s figures are not nearly as low as 2009’s when Colaba received only 263.8 mm rainfall and Santacruz got 218.2 mm as compared to the season normal of 553.7 mm and 524.7 mm respectively. However,what is different about the monsoon this year is the long lull period. “After the depression of June 12-13,there hasn’t been significant rainfall in the city,which is a bit unusual. The lull period does not get prolonged so much generally,” said Rajeev. Rainfall in the coming months is expected to be normal. “There should be considerable rain in July and a good monsoon overall,” he added.

Monsoon set in on June 5 in the city this year,almost a week before its usual date of June 10. This alarm over low rainfall figures comes after the IMD predicted the monsoon season rainfall for the country to be around 95 per cent of the long period average,which is a notch below normal.