India, June 1 -- The city finally got a break from weeks of sweltering heat and sticky humidity on Sunday as widespread pre-monsoon showers swept across the city. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has, however, clarified that the southwest monsoon is yet to arrive and issued a yellow alert for thunderstorms, rain and gusty winds till June 2.

Rain lashed across several parts of the city during the early hours, with the eastern suburbs bearing the brunt of the showers. BMC data collected between 6 am and 9 am showed the eastern suburbs recorded an average rainfall of 5 mm, while the western suburbs received 2 mm and the island city just 0.61 mm, underlining the highly localised nature of the first widespread pre-monsoon showers of ...