With the onset of monsoon in various districts of the Konkan Kinarpatti (coastal strip), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Mumbai on Wednesday, and a yellow alert for the next 4 days. "The Konkan Kinarpatti including Mumbai may receive heavy to very heavy rainfall for next 4 days," Shubhangi Bhute, sscientist, IMD Mumbai said.
The southwest monsoon arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday, the IMD announced as heavy rains lashed the country's financial capital and suburbs since early morning.
Water-logging was reported in some low-lying areas, while local train services - the lifeblood of the city - have been largely unaffected so far, although services from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Kurla have been suspended since 9.50 am due to waterlogging and heavy rainfall and waterlogging between Sion and Kurla.
Traffic will resume once water levels recedes, a Central Railway spokesperson told news agency ANI.
The routes of some BEST buses - the city's public transport provider - have also been diverted.
A high tide of over four metres is expected around noon in the Arabian Sea, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
"It's monsoon arrival in Mumbai today," said Dr Jayanta Sarkar, head of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) Mumbai office.
Several parts of the city and suburbs witnessed heavy rainfall along with thunder in the morning.
According to the IMD, the Colaba observatory (representative of south Mumbai) received 77.4 mm rainfall, while the Santacruz observatory (representative of the suburbs) recorded 59.6 mm downpour in the last 24 hours.
