Mumbai witnessed a historic weather event on Monday as intense rainfall lashed several parts of the city, marking the earliest monsoon arrival in 35 years. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Colaba received a staggering 135 mm of rainfall by 8:30 am, with total monthly rainfall now reaching 295 mm — breaking the previous May record of 279.4 mm set in 1918. Several areas in South Mumbai saw over 200 mm of rain between midnight and 11 am, including Nariman Point (252 mm), Byculla (213 mm), and Do Taki (202 mm), according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data.

The IMD responded by upgrading Mumbai’s weather warning from yellow to orange, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and winds reaching up to 60 kmph through Tuesday morning. Scientist Sushma Nair confirmed that the current weather is indeed monsoonal in nature, with the southern tip of Mumbai and parts of Raigad receiving intense spells. Notably, the Santacruz observatory recorded 33 mm of rain by 8:30 am, with a total of 197.8 mm for May so far. The early onset of the southwest monsoon — arriving on May 25 — is also significant, coming ten days ahead of the usual date of June 5.

The heavy downpour led to widespread waterlogging and traffic disruptions across Mumbai, particularly around Dadar TT, Marine Lines, and Saki Naka. Vehicles moved slowly on key flyovers like King’s Circle, with rainfall recorded at 40 mm in Nariman Point and 36 mm at Grant Road within just an hour in the morning. Eastern and western suburbs were relatively less affected, recording 19 mm and 15 mm respectively. Alongside Mumbai, districts like Thane and Raigad are also under an orange alert, while IMD’s nowcast extended rain warnings to Nashik, Kolhapur, and coastal Konkan areas as well.