Mumbai woke up to a downpour for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing an orange alert for Thursday, with the likelihood of “heavy to very heavy” rainfall.
In the neighbouring districts of Raigad and Ratnagiri, the weather bureau has sounded a red alert over the next two days, stating the likelihood of “heavy to very heavy rain with occasional spells of extremely heavy rainfall” until Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, due to continuous showers, the Tansa lake — the second of the seven lakes catering to Mumbai’s water needs — filled to capacity and started overflowing Wednesday evening.
According to IMD data, in 24 hours till 8.30 am on Wednesday, its Colaba coastal observatory recorded 87 mm of rainfall while 85 mm of rainfall was registered at the Santacruz observatory. Of this, the maximum showers were recorded overnight with only 6 mm of the total rainfall recorded in the island city division until 5.30 pm on Tuesday.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s automatic weather station, some pockets of the island city division received nearly 100 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. Between Tuesday and Wednesday morning until 8 am, the heaviest rainfall of 104 mm was recorded over Malabar Hill, followed by 102 mm rainfall near the BMC headquarters and 100 mm of rainfall near the civic A ward office in Fort.
The downpour triggered waterlogging in several pockets, leading to traffic snarls during peak hours. Owing to 1-1.5 ft waterlogging, the Andheri subway was closed and vehicles were diverted via the Gokhale Bridge and Thackeray Bridge. Waterlogging was also reported between Pump House and Mogra Metro station.
Torrential showers on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday come on the heels of Mumbai receiving over 100 mm of rainfall in the past two days. While the Santacruz observatory logged 115 mm of rainfall between Sunday and Monday, it clocked in 108 mm of rainfall yet again between Monday and Tuesday.
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However, the intensity of showers receded by Wednesday afternoon with the IMD’s Santacruz station recording 42 mm rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Wednesday.
Even as the rainfall activity receded, the IMD has placed Mumbai, Thane and Palghar districts under an orange alert on Thursday, owing to the possibility of very heavy rainfall.
The incoming spell of heavy rainfall has been attributed to a fresh low pressure area, which is expected to form over north Bay of Bengal around Thursday. “The low pressure area, which is expected to form over Bay of Bengal over the next 24 hours is going to have an impact on the rain activity in Konkan,” said Shubhangi Bhute, director of IMD Mumbai on Wednesday.
Tansa lake overflows
Amid heavy rain, the Tansa lake, which is among the seven lakes catering to Mumbai’s potable water demands, filled to capacity and started overflowing at 5.40 pm Wednesday.
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With two lakes overflowing — Modak Sagar on July 9 — the total stock in the seven lakes soared to 12.57 lakh million litres or 86.88 per cent of the total capacity on Wednesday morning. This is significantly higher than last year when the stock was at 53.12 per cent, while in 2023, the lake levels touched 50.18 per cent of the total capacity.
Tansa’s overflow came along the heels of the lake area recording 90 mm rainfall over the past 24 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday morning. In 2024, Tansa lake had overflowed on July 24, while in 2023, the lake had filled to capacity on July 26.
Situated in Thane district’s Shahapur taluka, Tansa lake is among the oldest dams built in stone. The lake has a capacity of 1.45 lakh million litres.
