June 19, 2025: Mumbai witnessed an unexpected deluge on Monday as the southwest monsoon made its earliest recorded arrival, nearly 15 days ahead of schedule. Heavy rainfall began around 6am and persisted relentlessly until mid-afternoon, plunging the city into chaos.
The abrupt onset of the monsoon caught both citizens and civic authorities off guard. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) was forced to upgrade its warnings through the day — starting with a yellow alert in the morning, followed by an orange alert, and finally a red alert issued at 12:30pm. By then, many Mumbaikars had already left for work, only to find themselves stranded in flooded streets and disrupted transport networks.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), trailing behind on monsoon preparedness, struggled to cope. Widespread waterlogging was reported not only in traditionally low-lying areas but also in newer localities that had rarely flooded in the past.
Transport services bore the brunt of the downpour. Harbour line trains were briefly suspended, and metro operations were affected as water entered the Acharya Atre Chowk station on the Aqua Line.
Nariman Point recorded the city’s highest rainfall, with a staggering 250mm between 10pm Sunday and 11am Monday. Other parts of the island city received over 100mm, leaving both vehicles and pedestrians to wade through waist-deep water in some of the city’s most upscale neighbourhoods. Meanwhile, the western and eastern suburbs received almost half as much rain.
The BMC attributed the extensive flooding to blocked drains choked with garbage and disruptions to the stormwater drainage network caused by ongoing underground metro construction — once again raising questions about the city’s infrastructure and resilience in the face of intensifying climate events.
Source: Hindustan Times
