Heavy Rains In Mumbai, Short Breather Tomorrow, Intensify Again Later
Very heavy and blinding overnight rains have brought Mumbai to a halt, disrupting transport services and leaving many areas waterlogged. Some of the roads have been submerged, underpasses blocked and shut, and commuters stranded. Airlines issued advisories for travelers to check the status of their flights. The rains continued today as well, leaving many streets with knee-deep water.
Airport observatory Santacruz recorded the first three-digit downpour of this month. The weather station recorded 115 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, ending 8:30 a.m. today. The heavy rains continued in many areas, and the airport added another 72 mm between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The city observatory has amassed a total of 472 mm rainfall, crossing the halfway mark of the monthly normal of 840.7 mm. However, the rains were rather mild over the southern parts of the city, wherein the regional observatory Colaba registered a mere 11 mm rainfall in 24 hours and only 1 mm was added till 11:30 hrs. The rainfall distribution has been highly uneven, and a similar pattern is likely to continue till the rains subside during the later part of the evening and tonight.
Mumbai normally witnesses escalation of monsoon rains as and when a weather system appears over the Bay of Bengal. Currently, a cyclonic circulation is marked over Northwest Bay of Bengal (BoB), off the Odisha coast. The monsoon westerly surge has picked up along the Konkan Coast, resulting in sharp and intense showers. This system is likely to get subsumed shortly, as another strong system is expected to emerge over BoB. The remnant of a storm in the West Pacific will travel across Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar to enter BoB. A low-pressure area is likely to form on 24th July 2025. This weather system will start moving inland across the East Coast on 26th July and later.
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Under the combined influence of these two weather systems, Mumbai is likely to have extended weather activity during this week. After today’s downpour, a short breather is likely tomorrow, albeit in continuation with moderate showers through the day. The scale and strength will pick up again from 23rd onwards. Fairly widespread intermittent rainfall, embedded with isolated spells of heavy thundershowers, is likely between 23rd and 27th July. Once again, this spell may impact traffic, on road and in the air, and lead to waterlogging and inundation. The appearance of the new moon on 25th July will increase the risk of tidal and astronomical waves. Exercise utmost caution and prepare for any eventuality.
