Mumbai finally welcomed the southwest monsoon on Tuesday, ending a long wait that extended 13 days after its usual arrival date of June 11. The long-awaited rains brought relief from the persistent heat and humidity, but also caused widespread disruption in several parts of the city as roads and subways were submerged.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) placed Mumbai under yellow alert on Wednesday, anticipating heavy rains. Yellow and orange alerts have been issued in parts of Maharashtra as wet weather conditions persist across the state.
Waterlogging disrupts daily life
Heavy rains overnight and into Tuesday led to severe waterlogging in several parts of Mumbai.
Read also | The monsoon finally arrives in Mumbai, 13 days late
Commuters faced traffic disruptions as roads became difficult to navigate and civic authorities moved to restrict access to flooded areas.
The flooded subway in Everard Nagar was also closed to the public, news agency ANI reported.
Images from different parts of the city, including the Saki Naka metro station area, showed the impact of rainfall on daily movement.
Speaking about the situation in Andheri Tunnel, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in-charge Hrithik told ANI: “…We have not been able to find a temporary solution to this severe waterlogging… Our officers continue to stand here to ensure that vehicles do not pass. But some auto-rickshaw drivers are still trying to cross their autos… The auto-rickshaw got stuck here in the middle of the subway. His life was in danger… Two of our officers helped to get him out…”
Read also | Monsoon finally enters Mumbai after long delay; IMD issues heavy rain warning
Robert, another BMC official, said: “…we are doing our best to ensure that no vehicles enter the tunnel…we are trying to protect as many people as possible…”
Rainfall was recorded across Mumbai
According to IMD data, Colaba received 49 mm of rain in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Tuesday, while Santacruz recorded 12 mm during the same period.
Between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Tuesday, the IMD observed 35.6 mm of rain in Colaba and 8.9 mm in Santacruz, which serves as the primary weather station in Mumbai.
Data from the IMD’s seven automatic rain gauges showed that Byculla recorded the highest rainfall of 42.5 mm during the period, followed by Sion with 21.5 mm, Mahalaxmi with 18 mm, Bandra with 17 mm, Ram Mandir with 13 mm, Vidyavithar with 5.5 mm and Vikhroli with 5 mm.
One of the most delayed monsoons in Mumbai
This year’s arrival of monsoon is among the most delayed in Mumbai’s recorded weather history.
The June 24 onset is pegged as the third-latest monsoon arrival in the city since 1951. The last arrival on June 25 was recorded in 1959, 2019 and 2022. Before this year, June 24 was set as the start date in 1974, while June 23 was recorded in 1981, HT reported earlier.
Announcing the progress of the monsoon, the IMD said: “The southwest monsoon has advanced further into the remaining parts of the central Arabian Sea, some other parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, the remaining parts of Telangana and Odisha, and some other parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. The northern limit of the monsoon passes through Dahanu, Wardha, Raipur, Daltonganj and Motihari.”
