Mumbai woke up to an unusually intense downpour on Monday morning, with dark clouds and heavy rain sweeping across the city well before the official start of the monsoon. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Colaba recorded 135 mm of rainfall by 8:30 AM, taking the total for May to a staggering 295 mm, the highest the station has seen in over a century. This breaks the previous May record of 279.4 mm set in 1918, ending a 107-year-old streak.
Maharashtra sees earliest monsoon in 35 years! Yellow Alert in Mumbai, more rain ahead
Heavy rain, high tides add to Mumbai’s pre-monsoon woes
Monday’s unseasonal downpour brought Mumbai to a near standstill, with heavy waterlogging reported in low-lying areas like Dadar, Parel, and King’s Circle. Flooded tracks disrupted Central Railway services, slowing trains significantly. Trains are operational but moving at reduced speed, stated a railway official. While Western Railway saw no major waterlogging, several commuters still faced delays.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a thunderstorm alert with gusty winds and forecast light to moderate rain over the next 24 hours. South Mumbai was worst hit, with Nariman Point alone recording 104 mm of rainfall.
While Santacruz’s May total stands at 197.8 mm, still below the 2000 record of 387.8 mm, Colaba broke a 107-year record with 295 mm of rain this month. The heaviest single-day rain in Santacruz remains 944 mm, recorded on July 26, 2005, while Colaba’s stands at 575 mm from July 5, 1974.
With high tides peaking at 4.75 metres and the monsoon still weeks away typically arriving by June 11, the city got an early glimpse of the seasonal chaos, prompting BMC teams to step in for flood control.
