The suburbs of Mumbai witnessed an incessant downpour between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning with 286.4mm of rain, categorized as extremely heavy rain.
This is the heaviest rain the suburbs received this season and the second highest 24-hour September period in 26 years (1994-2020). This is also the fourth highest 24-hour September spell recorded during 1974-2020.
A heavy and continuous downpour Tuesday night caused water to accumulate in several areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). After the intensity of the rain eased slightly around midnight, showers were witnessed around 3.30am onwards, followed by a heavy downpour.
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Between 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday and 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday, the Santacruz meteorological station, representative of the suburbs, registered 286.4 mm of rain (extremely heavy) while Colaba, representative of southern Mumbai, registered 147.8 mm (very strong) rain. Of this, 107mm of rain was recorded over six hours on Tuesday (5.30pm to 11.30pm) and a remaining 179.4mm from 11.30pm to 5.30am on Wednesday, while South Mumbai recorded 89mm of rain over six hours on Tuesday (5.30pm to 11.30pm) and the remaining 58.5mm until 8:30 am on Wednesday. The light rain continued in parts of the city beyond 8.30 a.m. Wednesday.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) classifies 15.6-64.4mm as moderate rain, while 64.5-115.5mm of rain as heavy, 115.6-204.4mm as very heavy, plus 204.5mm as extremely heavy rain and over 300mm as exceptionally heavy rain.
A flooded highway in Parel, Mumbai. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande / HT)
“Both the suburbs and southern Mumbai received very heavy rains at night. Most of MMR. The entire western side of Mumbai, from Colaba to Bhayandar, was under a thick layer of clouds (maximum height of 7-8 km), causing very heavy rains since Tuesday night. Short bursts of heavy rain were recorded in isolated areas and the trend continued throughout the night with showers and heavy rains between 3.30 and 5.30 in the morning, ”said KS Hosalikar, Deputy Director General for Western Region of the Indian Meteorological Department ( IM D).
Before the 24-hour rain between Tuesday and Wednesday, the heaviest rain this season for the Mumbai suburbs was recorded between August 3-4 at 268.6mm. However, the highest rainfall for South Mumbai was recorded between August 5-6 at 331.2mm.
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On September 20, 2016, Mumbai had registered 303.7 mm of rain. Before that, 312.4 mm of rain was recorded on September 23, 1993 and 318.2 mm of rain was recorded on September 23, 1981.
The meteorological office issued a yellow alert (possibility of heavy rain in isolated areas) for the remainder of Wednesday and predicted a gradual reduction in the intensity of the rain for Wednesday night.
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