Mumbai Braces for More Heavy Rain as IMD Extends Alerts Across Konkan; Thane, Palghar on Red Alert

After a 15-day lull, Mumbai has been witnessing persistent rainfall over the past two days, with strong winds adding to the impact. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that heavy rain is likely to continue across Mumbai and the Konkan region over the next few days, with red alerts in force for Thane and Palghar.

Red alert for Thane, Palghar; Orange alert for Mumbai

The IMD had issued an Orange Alert for Mumbai on July 23, while Thane and Palghar were placed under a Red Alert due to the likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall.

Several parts of Thane, Palghar, Nashik, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg have already received intense showers, while Mumbai remained under overcast skies with intermittent rain throughout the day.

Heavy rain likely for next four days

According to Sushma Nair, Senior Scientist at the IMD's Mumbai centre, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected across Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg between July 24 and July 27.

The IMD has also forecast very heavy rain accompanied by winds of 60–70 kmph over the Nashik Ghat, Pune Ghat, Satara Ghat and Kolhapur Ghat regions of central Maharashtra, where Red and Orange Alerts remain in place.

For Mumbai, a Yellow Alert has been issued for July 24 and 25, with weather conditions expected to improve after July 26.

Thunderstorms forecast for Marathwada, Vidarbha

The weather department has also predicted light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds across Marathwada and Vidarbha over the next four days.

Active monsoon driving widespread rainfall

According to the IMD, the southwest monsoon remains vigorous over the Arabian Sea.

Satellite imagery from ISRO's INSAT-3DS showed a dense cloud band stretching from Mumbai to Kerala over the Arabian Sea on Thursday evening.

Meteorologists attributed the widespread rainfall to a combination of:

A highly active southwest monsoon over the Arabian Sea.

An active east-west shear zone extending from the northeastern Arabian Sea through south Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, north Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal at an altitude of 3.1 km to 7.6 km.

Moist southwesterly winds in the lower atmosphere feeding the weather system.

These conditions are expected to sustain heavy rainfall across the Konkan coast over the coming days.

Rainfall and temperature

By 8.30 pm, rainfall recorded was:

Colaba: 14.1 mm

Santacruz: 20.4 mm

During the 24 hours ending 8.30 am, rainfall stood at:

Colaba: 22.6 mm

Santacruz: 63.6 mm

Seasonal rainfall totals have now reached:

Colaba: 1,501.6 mm

Santacruz: 1,850.9 mm

On Thursday, the maximum and minimum temperatures were:

Colaba: 28.5°C / 26.2°C

Santacruz: 28.1°C / 25.2°C

Humidity levels remained high, ranging between 85% and 92%, contributing to humid conditions across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.