Heavy rainfall lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Friday, leading to widespread waterlogging and traffic disruptions across the city. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) upgraded its earlier yellow alert to an orange alert for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of up to 30–40 kmph at isolated places.
By late evening, several areas including Kurla, BKC, Juhu and Andheri reported severe waterlogging, with slow-moving traffic on the Western Express Highway. The Mumbai Traffic Police, in a post on X, said traffic at Andheri Subway at Andheri West was halted after two to two-and-a-half feet of water accumulated, forcing diversions via the Gokhale Bridge.
The IMD said a cyclonic circulation over Vidarbha and its neighbourhood, coupled with northwestward movement, has intensified rainfall activity along the Konkan belt. A nowcast alert issued at 4 pm warned of thunder, lightning and gusty winds in parts of Mumbai and nearby districts. Authorities have urged residents to stay indoors unless necessary, avoid waterlogged areas, and take precautions in low-lying regions.
Meanwhile, the IMD has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall across several parts of the country, including Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada, Gujarat Region, Kerala and Coastal Karnataka on Saturday. Extremely heavy showers are expected over parts of Gujarat on Friday, the department said.
The IMD further stated that an isolated heavy rainfall spell is likely to continue over Northwest India for the next five days. Himachal Pradesh is expected to see very heavy rainfall on Friday and Saturday, while Uttarakhand may witness similar conditions until September 2.
In the past 24 hours, extremely heavy rainfall, above 21 cm, was recorded at isolated places in Coastal Karnataka and Telangana, while Marathwada also received heavy to very heavy showers. Very heavy rainfall ranging between 12–20 cm was reported in parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, East Rajasthan, Gujarat Region, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, East Uttar Pradesh, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and West Madhya Pradesh. Punjab, Haryana, Konkan, Goa, Vidarbha, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, while Lakshadweep saw heavy rainfall between 7–11 cm.
According to IMD, the western end of the monsoon trough now runs near its normal position, while the eastern end lies south of normal. An upper air cyclonic circulation persists over Vidarbha, and a trough extends from South Chhattisgarh to North Kerala. Additionally, a Western Disturbance as a cyclonic circulation is present over north Pakistan and adjoining Punjab.
The IMD has advised state authorities to remain alert for possible flooding, waterlogging and landslides in vulnerable regions.
