Mumbai rains: Traffic hit on Western Express highway, waterlogging in many areas

NEW DELHI: Traffic slowed down on the Western Express Highway near Vile Parle as heavy rain lashed Mumbai city on Monday. Waterlogging was reported in several areas across Mumbai.The wet spell, which began over the weekend, continued on Sunday with multiple locations recording triple-digit rainfall in the 24-hour period ending 8.30 am.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) maintained its orange alert for Mumbai and Thane through August 19, warning of heavy to very heavy showers at isolated places. A yellow alert was issued for August 20, indicating heavy rain at a few locations.The Santacruz observatory recorded 85 mm of rainfall, while Colaba received 55 mm. Data from the city’s automatic weather stations (AWS) showed sharp variations across neighbourhoods.In south Mumbai, Fort logged 134 mm, Cotton Green 145 mm, Grant Road 121 mm, and Lower Parel 129 mm.In the eastern suburbs, Parel reported 134 mm, Vikhroli and Bhandup 135 mm each, while Ghatkopar and Tagore Nagar in Vikhroli recorded 124 mm. The western suburbs witnessed heavier showers — Kandivli reported 150 mm, Borivli 92 mm, while Dahisar topped the charts with 188 mm.The cumulative rainfall this season has crossed 1,000 mm at both IMD Colaba and Santacruz observatories. By August 17, Colaba had recorded 1,257 mm, while Santacruz logged 1,764 mm.However, IMD issues Red alert for Mumbai till 11.50am.Airlines issue advisoryAirlines advised passengers to plan additionalextra travel time as road traffic to the airport was affected due to persistent rain and waterlogging in parts of Mumbai. The airline also urged passengers to monitor flight updates.“Due to heavy rainfall in certain parts of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Goa, and Pune, we anticipate slow moving traffic and congestion on roads leading to the airport. To ensure a seamless travel experience, we request you to plan for additional travel time to reach the airport well in time for your flight. Please check your flight status here: http://bit.ly/qpfltsts. We realize that this may inconvenience your travel plans and seek your understanding,” said Akasa Air in a statement.“The rain continues to make its presence felt across mumbai, and road travel has been affected in parts. traffic is moving slowly on some routes to the airport due to persistent showers and pooling water. If you are catching a flight today, we recommend heading out early and keeping an eye on your flight updates via our app and website. Our airport teams are standing by and ready to help you along the way,” stated Indigo.