On Wednesday evening, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted strong thunderstorms, lightning, and a lot of rain in a number of Maharashtra districts, including Mumbai, Palghar, and Satara. The agency issued an alert warning that within the next few hours, isolated locations may see gusty gusts of 40 to 50 kmph.
The bad weather has already interfered with flight operations at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Due to wind shear, an Indigo flight earlier today had to abort its landing and reroute to Ahmedabad. Seven go-arounds and two diversions had been reported as of 20:09 hours, and as the weather gets worse, further problems are anticipated. SpiceJet warned in a statement that “all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected due to bad weather (heavy rain) in Mumbai (BOM)”.
The airline urged passengers to check the status of their flights on the carrier’s website.Residents are advised to use caution when going outside as the IMD has issued a red alert for the area. The copious amounts of rain have also had a significant effect on Mumbai’s suburban train system. The Central Railway (CR) line is experiencing delays of up to an hour due to submerged rail tracks at Kurla, Bhandup, and Vikhroli.
The transit crisis has been exacerbated by announcements at stations informing commuters that trains will not be stopping at Nahur, Kanjurmarg, and Vidyavihar stations. On the western line, train cancellations have started, causing significant crowding at Churchgate and adjacent stops. Long delays are being experienced by commuters as the city’s transit system tries to keep up with the nonstop rain.