Weather update: Mumbai's wettest day of the year brings city to standstill, more showers expected
On Wednesday alone, Mumbai recorded nearly half of its monthly average rainfall for September, with figures showing the city has now surpassed its September average of 360 mm by over 40%. In the 24-hour period leading up to Thursday morning, the Santacruz weather station recorded 170.3 mm of rainfall, while the Colaba observatory registered 169.2 mm.
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FollowMumbai on Wednesday (September 25) evening and Thursday morning witnessed torrential rainfall, leading to massive disruption across the city. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city recorded its highest single-day rainfall since 2020 during this period, causing severe damages to infrastructures and impacting daily life. The IMD has predicted more heavy to very heavy rainfall for Thursday, issuing an orange alert for Mumbai and its neighboring Thane district. The weather bureau has also warned of thunderstorms in both areas.
Meanwhile, a red alert had been issued for Mumbai and Thane until 8:30 am on Thursday, prompting local municipal authorities to declare the closure of schools and colleges in the districts. Palghar district, placed under a red alert for the entire day on Thursday, also announced a holiday for schools in the region.
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On Wednesday alone, Mumbai recorded nearly half of its monthly average rainfall for September, with figures showing the city has now surpassed its September average of 360 mm by over 40%. In the 24-hour period leading up to Thursday morning, the Santacruz weather station recorded 170.3 mm of rainfall, while the Colaba observatory registered 169.2 mm. This made Wednesday the wettest day of September 2024 so far and the highest rainfall day since September 2020, when the city saw 286.4 mm of rain in a single day.
Earlier data shows that the wettest day ever recorded in September was back in 1981, with 318.2 mm of rainfall on September 23. With this latest deluge, Mumbai has now received over 510 mm of rain in September, exceeding the monthly average by 41%.
The heavy rains on Wednesday inundated key areas of the city, including major arterial roads such as the Western and Eastern Express Highways, and the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR). The situation worsened as heavy rainfall—over 250 mm in some pockets—fell within a six-hour period after 5:30 pm.
According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), it indicated that the heaviest rainfall took place in the eastern suburbs, which recorded an average of 171 mm of rain. The island city registered 117.18 mm, while the western suburbs saw an average of 109 mm of rain during the same period.
The relentless downpour caused massive traffic jams, as well as disruptions to the city's railway and air services. As many as 14 flights were diverted from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to other cities due to the weather. Waterlogging on roads slowed traffic to a crawl, and the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) diverted buses on at least 20 routes.
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