The southwest monsoon has officially arrived over Mumbai.
Torrential downpours and lightning strikes lashed the city on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared the onset of the southwest monsoon over Mumbai and parts of north Konkan.
The IMD has placed Mumbai under an active orange alert, warning of severe thunderstorms, gusty winds up to 40 kmph, and heavy rainfall as the monsoon system pushes firmly into the financial capital.
HEAVY RAINS CONTINUE
The latest weather observations show a massive surge in rain across the city.
Coastal Konkan and Mumbai recorded particularly strong activity, with places like Murud at 150 mm and Ratnagiri at 147 mm. The revival has also advanced inland to Alibaug, Nagothane in Raigad, Tamhini Ghat, and areas near Pune.
Meteorologists attribute this intense wet spell to a powerful atmospheric system over the Arabian Sea, backed by strong westerlies, favourable outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), and an offshore trough.
Instead of scattered pre-monsoon showers, Mumbai is now experiencing continuous heavy rains.
A LATE ARRIVAL
This marks a major turning point for Mumbai, which endured its driest start to June in nearly two decades. The monsoon’s arrival over the Kerala coast was delayed, and then it faced a further two-week stall along the western coast due to weakening oceanic winds.
The resulting dry spell had pushed daytime temperatures higher and caused local lake levels to drop dangerously low.
The heavy downpours on Tuesday confirm that the stagnation has ended, with the primary monsoon current now taking full control. The official declaration follows IMD criteria being met, including adequate rainfall at designated stations, such as Colaba and Santacruz; widespread coverage, and a sustained shift to moisture-laden westerly winds.
Strong southwesterly winds have now locked into the coast, breaking the dry atmospheric barrier that stalled the system for the past two weeks. However, interior areas like Thane remain somewhat uneven and drier as the full depth of the westerlies continues to establish.
The current orange alert signals that rainfall intensity will peak over the next 24–48 hours, bringing much-needed relief.
At the same time, a developing low-latitude system over the Bay of Bengal may temporarily weaken the westerlies, causing some uneven rainfall distribution across North Konkan, Thane, Palghar, and Mumbai’s catchments until around June 27–28.
WHAT’S AHEAD?
The IMD noted that conditions remain favourable for the further advance of the monsoon into some parts of the north Arabian Sea and Gujarat, additional areas of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, and parts of Madhya Pradesh over the next two to three days.
Thereafter, the monsoon is expected to advance into the remaining parts of Jharkhand and Bihar and cover some parts of Uttar Pradesh during the next three to four days.
But until then, monsoon has arrived in Mumbai.
– Ends
Inputs by Anmol Nath Bali
