As heavy rains and thunderstorms wreaked havoc in different parts of Maharashtra, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Mumbai and neighbouring districts of Thane, Raigad, and Ratnagiri, predicting “extremely heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds at isolated places.”The IMD had earlier issued an orange alert for Mumbai and the neighbouring Thane and Raigad districts, which has now been upgraded to red alert, which will remain in place till Tuesday morning. A few hours of intense rainfall on Monday morning led to waterlogging in several low-lying areas of Mumbai and inundated railway tracks, disrupting road traffic and slowing suburban train services during rush hour, officials said.The IMD had issued a “Nowcast” warning forecasting thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds of 50–60 kmph at isolated places. This is the earliest arrival of monsoon in Mumbai in 75 years. The normal date for monsoon’s arrival in Mumbai is June 11.”Southwest monsoon made its onset over Mumbai on May 26. This is the earliest onset in the last 75 years,” IMD scientist Sushma Nair said.The island city was hit hardest, with areas like Dadar, Mahim, Parel, Bandra, Kalachowki and Chinchpokli receiving heavy rain.Railway tracks on the Central Railway network were waterlogged at Masjid, Byculla, Dadar, Matunga and Badlapur stations. “The movement of suburban locals is on, but with reduced speed at a few locations,” said Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer, Central Railway. A spokesperson added that trains were delayed by eight to ten minutes due to low visibility and water on the tracks.On the Western Railway corridor, officials said services were running normally, though commuters reported delays on social media.Heavy showers are also impacting flight operations. Reports say that over 250 flights have been affected.
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