Is Mumbai Ready for Onset of Early Monsoon?

As Mumbai woke up to the dark morning on May 26, questioning if they were already in monsoon, the mayhem on the roads shared the stories of agreement. Like every other year, there were visuals of waterlogging in the Andheri subway, Dadar’s Hindmata and Parel’s market while the local trains were affected. But, beyond that, it was the waterlogging near the flora fountain, Nariman Point C road and not even a month-old Metro line 3 that, once again, exposed the poor urban planning that Mumbai has been a victim of. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced the onset of the monsoon in Kerala on May 24 and stated that it was the earliest since 2009. According to the body, Mumbai recorded the early monsoon on May 29 in the years 1971, 1962, and 1956, which usually occurred on June 11. Reportedly, the southwest monsoon travelled from Kerala, its source, to Maharashtra within 24 hours on Sunday and the next day, on Monday.
Four days into Mumbai Monsoon 2025.

While Science approached, however, engineering remained behind for Mumbai yet again. Yesterday, the heavy rains lashed the northern suburbs of Borivali, Andheri, and Lokhandwala. In the last four days, there have been reports of a retaining wall crashing in Walkeshwar after the heavy downpour on Monday that led to the building being demolished.

Talking about other areas in the south, which turned out to be affected the most, it was Nana Chowk, Nepensea Road, Bindu Madhav Junction of Worli, Five Gardens, Matunga and Breach Candy were amongst the few that witnessed waterlogging. To its north, Andheri East’s Nagardas Road also saw a similar situation. 

What caught netizens’ attention the most was the Acharya Atre Chowk metro station of the Aqua Line of Mumbai metro, where 1.1 million litres of water were accumulated, and while the station was shut down, it received flak. Ashwini Bhide, the managing director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, then came on camera to call it an “unprecedented situation”. “Three entry-exists are under construction, “she said adding that there is so much rain in a short period and there won’t be issues once the construction is completed.

Mumbai civic body has also imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on the contractors who were responsible for installing four mini pumping stations at Dadar’s Hindmata, Gandhi market in King Circle, Chunnabatti and Yellow Gate in South as they failed to meet the deadline of May 25, 2025. The date was kept in mind to avoid the waterlogging issues in the monsoon. As it turns out, neither the pumping stations were installed, nor did the rains wait to arrive at their usual time.

But even leaving the early monsoon and the underway projects aside, the much-promoted water tanks at Hindmata in Dadar and King Circle—built at the cost of Rs 100 crores—did not help prevent floods here. The drain-cleaning work had yet to be completed, and the dewatering pumps had also yet to be installed. 

A never-ending question on urban planning 

The early monsoon, which has been blamed for the occurrences is nothing but the scapegoat used and, as per Dikshu C. Kukreja, who has worked for various projects in Mumbai including the Mumbai metro the “failing is that infrastructure projects are often executed in a race against time, without aligning with environmental and seasonal realities”. 

Talking to Local Samosa, he says that the inadequate assessment of natural drainage has to be done at the planning stage, “rather than treating it as an afterthought”. “Urban sites must undergo detailed hydrological and topographical studies before construction begins,” he says. 

Mumbai’s topography, combined with increasing concretisation and a stressed drainage system, makes it highly vulnerable during the monsoons, observes Mr. Kukreja, Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Albania and Managing Principal of CP Kukreja Architects, adding that a “monsoon-resilient urban infrastructure requires both design innovation and political will”. 

Stressing the need for “nature-based infrastructure,” he believes that instead of expanding only hard infrastructure, Mumbai must embrace soft engineering—bioswales, rain gardens, and wetland buffers, which not only manage excess rainfall but also revive lost ecological zones.

The footpaths of Mumbai come to a standstill during monsoons and hence, Mr. Kukreja emphasises that Urban transit zones, footpaths, and public spaces must be designed with permeable materials and slight elevation. “Traditional underground drainage is no longer sufficient. Infrastructure must embed sensor-based water level monitoring systems for real-time adjustments.”

Giving an instance of his work at the Bagdogra Airport, he says, “The site was originally 4 meters below the known flood levels for which the design involved a comprehensive land-raising strategy, a layered drainage system, and site contouring to ensure that the airport remained operable even during peak monsoon conditions.”

Since monsoon entered Mumbai, there are a lot of projects still underway, including the BMC’s deadline of May 30 for the concretisation of roads that have not yet been completed. Additionally, various local stations like Kandivali in the northern suburbs and central-eastern, Dombivali, and even Thane are among a few where the bridge work has not yet been completed. “It is a very narrow passage to go, and I would rather get down towards the West side and then go to the east side for my house. The passage is likely to be more crowded in the monsoon,” a source says.

Commenting on the status of Mumbai during monsoon, the urban planners say, “We must remember that the monsoon is not the adversary—our outdated systems and fragmented approach to planning is. If we build with nature, rather than against it, our cities can be not only functional during the rains—but thriving.”