According to the observations of the Colaba Weather Bureau, the present lull in the rains is due to the absence of any cloud systems in the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea. ``This can only mean one thing -- that it will not rain for the next two to three days in the city,' a spokesperson for the Bureau informed. However, the spokesperson added that the situation is perfectly normal, and once the brief let-up is over, it will again be raining cats and dogs in the metropolis, as the south-west monsoon has already covered the whole of India.

No rainfall was recorded on Sunday at both the Colaba and Santacruz observatories, and the mercury has risen considerably in the last couple of days. Colaba and Santacruz today recorded a maximum temperature of 31.6 and 32.2 degrees celsiusrespectively. Both the observatories recorded a minimum of 27.7 degrees celsius.

Mumbaiites have already started feeling the heat, though they are happy with the current lull in the showers, taking into account the fact that the local trains are running fine on tracks. The same goes for road traffic. Those who have taken maximum advantage of the shining sun are the crew of MTNL, who have revived a large number of telephone lines which had been out of order after the heavy downpour last week.