Mumbai receives an enormous amount of rain during its monsoon season, averaging around 2,400 mm (about 95 inches) a year, with the vast majority falling in a concentrated window from June through September. The city’s low-lying coastal geography, combined with dense construction and aging drainage infrastructure, means that intense monsoon downpours regularly bring the city to a standstill, flooding streets, railway lines, and low-lying neighborhoods within hours of the heaviest bands passing through. High tide occurring at the same time as heavy rain, as happened during the catastrophic 2005 monsoon floods, can make drainage even harder since floodwater has nowhere to go. Because monsoon rainfall in Mumbai varies enormously in intensity from day to day and even hour to hour, radar tracking is one of the most practical tools residents, commuters, and emergency services use to judge whether the next few hours will bring a manageable shower or a city-stopping downpour. The India Meteorological Department operates a dedicated Doppler radar at Colaba covering the city.
Learn more: Flash Flood Warning Signs on Radar · Open the full Rain Map