Mumbai Rains: Metropolis on red alert! Schools, colleges to remain shut; IndiGo, Vistara, Air India flights diverted

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Mumbai and predicted heavy rainfall across the metropolis on Thursday. The red alert came after heavy downpour battered Mumbai on Wednesday, inundating low-lying areas and halting local trains in their tracks.

Train services were impacted adversely on the Ghatkopar, Kanjurmarg, Vikhroli, and between Vidyavihar and Mulund. Following this, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced that schools and colleges will remain closed on Thursday.

Civic officials also urged people to step out of their homes only if necessary. 

Some roads were turned into fast-moving water as several areas received more than 100 mm of rain in 5 hours of evening. Traffic jams were witnessed on Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg in Kurla and Ghatkopar, particularly near Kalina Air India road, Kalpana cinema, Kurla Depot and Phoenix Mall Road, as well as Sahara Hotel. 

As per BMC data, the island city, eastern suburbs and western suburbs received 87.79 mm, 167.48 mm, and 95.57 mm rainfall between 5 pm and 10 pm. Mankhurd in eastern suburbs received the highest 276 mm rainfall followed by 275 mm in Bhandup and 274 mm in Powai area.

On Wednesday, several areas in Mumbai recorded over 100 mm rainfall. The most affected regions include Govandi (167 mm), Chembur (162 mm), Powai (145 mm), Bhandup (120 mm), and Veena Nagar in Mulund (104 mm). 

Sewri Koliwada and Wadala area in island city witnessed the highest rainfall of more than 145 mm rainfall while the highest rainfall recorded in Western suburbs was 190 mm.

Not only rail and road traffic, flight operations to and from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport were also impacted due to heavy rain. A total of 14 flights were diverted -- 9 from IndiGo, 2 from Vistara, 1 each from Air India, Akasa Air, and Gulf Air. 

Flights were rerouted to Hyderabad (7), Ahmedabad (4), Goa (2) and Udaipur (1).

"As heavy rains continue to drench Mumbai, we understand that many of you may be facing inconvenience with flight delays/diversions and heavy waterlogging on your way to the terminals. If you or your loved ones are travelling, please keep a close tab on your flight status. We are holding onto hope for clear skies and for our operations to return to normal soon. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time," IndiGo said in a post on X. 

Moreover, IMD scientist Sushma Nair told newswire PTI that a trough runs from north Konkan to south Bangladesh across a cyclonic circulation over south Chhattisgarh and its neighbourhood extending to the middle tropospheric level tilting southwards with height. 

"This will lead to fairly widespread to widespread light/moderate rainfall over Konkan and Goa during the week," she said.