Mumbai Braces for Heavy Rain: Red and Orange Alerts Issued for Parts of the City
Mumbai residents woke up to a soggy Monday as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red and orange alerts for several parts of the city and its suburbs following heavy rains that lashed the region throughout Sunday night.
A Day of Heavy Showers
According to the IMD, Mumbai is expected to experience “generally cloudy skies with heavy rain” throughout the day. The minimum temperature is predicted to be around 24 degrees Celsius, while the maximum is expected to reach 31 degrees Celsius. The forecast for the entire week indicates consistent rainfall.
Early Monday morning, around 3 am, the weather office issued a warning on X stating that “light to moderate spell of rainfall is likely to continue over Mumbai and suburban areas during the next 3-4 hours.”
Waterlogging Disrupts Traffic
The heavy rains resulted in widespread waterlogging in many parts of the city, causing significant disruptions to traffic movement.
Southwest Monsoon Arrives Early
The IMD also reported that the southwest monsoon arrived in Maharashtra on Sunday, marking the earliest onset of the annual rainfall season in the state in 35 years. This early arrival is expected to advance to Mumbai and other parts of the state within the next three days.
The last time the monsoon arrived this early in Maharashtra was in 1999, when it made landfall on May 20.
What Caused the Heavy Rains?
The IMD attributed the heavy rainfall to a well-marked low-pressure area located over south Madhya Maharashtra and adjoining areas of Marathwada and North Interior Karnataka. This low-pressure area is forecast to move eastwards over the next 24 hours and eventually weaken.
The IMD expects scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall along with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds in Konkan and Goa, as well as Madhya Maharashtra, from May 25 to 27.
Red and Orange Alerts Issued
Eight weather stations in Mumbai, including Borivali, Santacruz, Powai, Mulund, Chembur, Worli, Colaba, and Alibag, are under red alert. Navi Mumbai, Thane, and Kalyan weather stations are under orange alert.
Raigad district is also under red alert, with the IMD forecasting moderate thunderstorms and heavy rainfall with maximum surface wind speeds expected on Monday. Thane and Palghar districts are under orange alert.
