Incessant overnight rain accompanied by thunder and lightning lashed Mumbai and its suburbs early Monday, causing water-logging in several areas and slowing down the morning commute.
Low-lying areas including King’s Circle, Lalbaug, Worli, Dadar, Parel, Kurla and Bandra reported inundation, while water-filled potholes further worsened traffic.
Local trains were delayed by 10–15 minutes due to water accumulation on tracks at Dadar, Kurla and Bandra stations, though Western and Central Railway officials said suburban services were “running normally.”
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) initially issued an orange alert for Mumbai but upgraded it to a red alert on Monday morning.
“A red alert has been issued for Mumbai, Thane and Ratnagiri districts, applicable till 11.30 am on Monday,” a senior IMD Mumbai official said, adding that further updates will follow.
The IMD’s nowcast warning predicted “intense to very intense spells of rain and thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty winds reaching 30–40 kmph” in Mumbai, Thane and Raigad.
A weather update on X (formerly Twitter) at 4:30 am said: “Very Heavy Rains since last 3 hours across South-Central Mumbai. More non stop heavy rains to continue at least next 2 hours. Waterlogging likely in many areas #Mumbairains.”
For the next 24 hours, the IMD forecast “cloudy sky with heavy to very heavy rain” at isolated places in the city and suburbs, with a possibility of thunder, lightning and winds at 30–40 kmph.
Rainfall figures varied across the city. In the 24-hour period ending 8 am Monday, Colaba recorded 134.4 mm, Santacruz 73.2 mm, and the civic body reported an average of 111.19 mm in the island city, 76.46 mm in the eastern suburbs, and 74.15 mm in the western suburbs. Between 8.30 am Sunday and 5.30 am Monday, Colaba logged 88.2 mm, Bandra 82 mm, Byculla 73 mm, Mahul 70.5 mm, and Juhu 45 mm, while Santacruz and Mahalaxmi received 36 mm each.
Elsewhere in Maharashtra, an orange alert has been issued for Palghar, Pune, Ahilyanagar and Beed, while light showers are expected in other parts of the state.
