The city woke up to grey skies and light showers on Friday as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast heavy rainfall throughout the day. "The city is likely to experience 'generally cloudy sky with heavy rain' today," the IMD said, setting the tone for a wet weekend ahead.
The monsoon made its presence felt not just in Mumbai but across large parts of the western coast, triggering travel delays and prompting alerts for continued heavy to very heavy rain in Konkan, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala over the next few days.
In Thane district, a major traffic snarl unfolded on the Bhiwandi-Wada Road after intense rain late Wednesday night wreaked havoc. The heavy downpour damaged the road surface, forming dangerous potholes and slowing vehicle movement to a crawl. Ongoing construction work along the same route only added to the chaos.
The congestion stretched 7 to 8 kilometers, with commuters stranded for over four hours. Authorities are now racing to carry out temporary repairs to ease the bottleneck.
Elsewhere in India, Delhi faced its own weather drama on Wednesday, with a dust storm, thunderstorms, hail, and heavy rainfall lashing various parts of the capital.
According to the IMD's report for rainfall between 8:30 AM IST Thursday and 5:30 AM IST Friday, several states recorded significant precipitation:
- In Gangetic West Bengal, Haldia (Purba Medinipur) topped the charts with 10 cm of rainfall, followed by Diamond Harbour (South 24 Parganas) at 9 cm.
- Kolkata’s Dum Dum and Alipur stations (North 24 Parganas and Kolkata) each received 4 cm, while Digha saw 2 cm.
- Konkan & Goa too received a good share of rain, with Panjim (North Goa) recording 9 cm, and Mumbai (Santacruz) and Ratnagiri reporting 3 cm each.
Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Northeast India also witnessed spells of heavy rainfall, further signalling an active monsoon phase across the subcontinent.
