Mumbai Gets Heavy Rains But Lakes Stay Critically Low at 8% Capacity

Mumbai witnessed heavy rainfall on Tuesday as monsoon activity strengthened across Maharashtra, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a yellow alert for the city. Several areas in South Mumbai, including Marine Drive, Byculla, Parel and Dadar, received intense showers during the morning hours, while suburbs such as Bandra, Andheri, Kurla and Ghatkopar experienced moderate to heavy rainfall. The weather department has also warned of thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds in isolated parts of the city.

According to the IMD, conditions remain favourable for the southwest monsoon to advance further across Maharashtra over the next 48 hours. The weather system progressed into additional parts of the state on June 22 and is expected to bring widespread rainfall activity to several districts. Authorities believe the intensified monsoon conditions will help ease concerns arising from the delayed onset of seasonal rainfall in many regions.

The IMD has forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, heavy rain and winds reaching speeds of 30 to 40 kilometres per hour at isolated locations across Mumbai on June 23. A yellow alert remains in place for June 24 as well, with forecasts indicating moderate rainfall and stronger gusts of up to 50 kilometres per hour in some areas. An orange alert was also issued for parts of the wider Maharashtra region, including Thane, Palghar, Raigad and Vidarbha.

Also Read: Mumbai Breaks Monsoon Drought; Heavy Rains Forecast Within Days

Despite the increase in rainfall, water levels in Mumbai's seven reservoirs remain relatively low. Data released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on June 23 showed that the combined useful water stock stood at 116,808 million litres, representing 8.07 per cent of the total storage capacity of 1,447,363 million litres. Upper Vaitarna remained at zero per cent useful storage, while Bhatsa, the city's largest reservoir, was filled to 7.33 per cent of its capacity.

Among the other reservoirs, Middle Vaitarna recorded 10.78 per cent storage, Tansa stood at 2.21 per cent and Modak Sagar reached 21.06 per cent of capacity. Vihar reported the highest storage level at 40.77 per cent, while Tulsi was filled to 21.50 per cent of its total capacity. Civic authorities are closely monitoring reservoir levels as the city depends heavily on monsoon rainfall to replenish its drinking water reserves.

Tidal activity is also expected to influence local conditions. Mumbai experienced a high tide of 3.27 metres at 7:05 a.m. on Tuesday, while another and higher tide of approximately 3.58 metres is forecast for 6:35 p.m. Officials have advised residents to remain cautious in low-lying and flood-prone areas as the combination of heavy rainfall and high tides could lead to temporary waterlogging and traffic disruptions across parts of the city.

Also Read: Mumbai's Monsoon Wait Extends as Heat, Humidity Grip City Until Late June