The monsoon arrived in Maharashtra and Mumbai several days early, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Unprepared for the sudden downpour, the city was thrown into disarray, with scenes of flooded railway tracks and roads, and trains standing still seen across various locations.

In the recently inaugurated Aqua Line, the fully underground metro line running from the eastern suburb to the city, at one of the stations, Acharya Atre Chowk, water was seen cascading down the staircases and escalators  and also seeped onto the platforms. Commuters stepped off the coaches straight into ankle-deep water. Services were suspended on the line.

According to the IMD Colaba observatory, nearly 300 mm of rainfall was recorded by afternoon, surpassing a previous record of 279.4 mm seen in 1918 in the same month.

This is the earliest onset of the monsoon in the city in 75 years.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the highest rainfall from midnight of May 25 to 11 am on May 26 was recorded at Nariman Point Fire Station (252 mm) followed by A Ward Office (216 mm), Municipal Headquarters (214 mm), Colaba pumping stations (297 mm), Eye Hospital, Don Taki (202 mm), C ward office located in Marine Lines in South Mumbai (180 mm).

State government employees as well as other offices allowed their staff to leave early as the rains showed no signs of slackening.

Local train services had already been running late in the morning and between 10.25 am and 11.30 am services on the harbour line were suspended between Vadala Road and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) stations.

Train services on the central railway were operating at a cautious speed due to waterlogging on railway tracks near Masjid Bunder, Byculla, Matunga and Dadar railway stations. Train services across the city were operating with a delay of 10 minutes. 

The BEST bus services were impacted due to waterlogging on arterial roads and were diverted on 16 routes in the city. The collapse of a portion of the road at Kemps Corner  — an upper class locality in south Mumbai — led to traffic snarls in that area.

Long distance trains coming into the city were not cancelled but there were delays.

The heavy rains also affected flight operations and Mumbai airport saw two flight diversions and delays of up to an hour due to low visibility.

An Air India aircraft arriving from Goa diverted to Indore and one inbound from Ahmedabad turned back because of adverse weather.

According to sources, no arrivals took place in three windows of 5-10 minutes each in morning due to low visibility. Mumbai airport and airlines issued advisories for passengers asking them to check flight status and report early to airport to avoid traffic congestion. 

Scheduled maintenance of runway intersection was cancelled so that main runway remained available for use throughout the day, a source said.

Apart from Mumbai, some other places towards south on the West Coast along Konkan, Goa and adjoining interior west Maharashtra as well as Coastal Karnataka may be bracing for some heavy rain. The IMD has forecast moderate to heavy rainfalls with gusty winds in several parts of Maharashtra on Tuesday.

Social media abuzz

Citizens vented their ire on social media. A user wrote on X, “4th largest economy but water logging, pathetic roads and BMC issues alerts to stay safe home after everyone had left already for office. What’s the point of GDP? What’s the point of taxes?”

Another user, taking a dig at the flooding of the underground metro station commented, “We are idiots. They were serious when they named it Aqua Line.”

Published on May 26, 2025