Mumbai reels under rain deficit in June, IMD sounds season’s first red alert in MMR

3 min readMumbaiJun 30, 2026 08:37 PM IST

Despite continuous showers over the past one week, records show that the city failed to meet its average rainfall quota for the month of June. (File Photo)

Amid delayed onset of monsoon, Mumbai reeled under a rain deficit of over 25 percent in June despite heavy downpour over the past week.

However, after a dry June, the region is in for a wet start to July with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) sounding an orange alert of extreme rainfall in Mumbai and Thane from July 1 while Raigad district has been placed under a red alert on July 2.

For the third consecutive day, Mumbai woke up to moderate spells of rainfall on Tuesday with the Santacruz station receiving 28 mm rain between Monday and Tuesday while the coastal station in Colaba logged 32 mm rainfall.

Overall, the Santacruz observatory clocked 416.4 mm rain between June 1 and June 30 while the Colaba coastal observatory logged in 441 mm rain during the month.

Despite continuous showers over the past one week, records show that the city failed to meet its average rainfall quota for the month of June. Making for a deficit of over 25 percent, records from the IMD’s climatological data show that Santacruz observatory receives an average of 526 mm in the month of June while Colaba observatory records 506 mm rain during the month.

The deficit in average rainfall follows the delayed arrival of southwest monsoon in Mumbai this year. While the normal date of monsoon onset for the city is July 11, monsoon advanced into Mumbai on June 23 after a nearly two-week delay. Until the arrival of monsoon, heavy pre-monsoon spells also eluded the city leaving Mumbai and its neighbouring districts parched.

Meanwhile, the rain deficit has left the total stock in the seven lakes catering to Mumbai’s potable water supply dwindling over the month. Despite over 400 mm rainfall recorded in the past week, the total stock in the lakes continued to plummet on Tuesday when the water stock touched 6.75 percent of the total capacity. This marks a stark contrast from last year, when the total stock on the same day had soared upto 40.22 percent or 5.82 lakh million litres.

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The dry spell in June comes in line with the IMD forecasting below normal monsoon with only 90 percent of the average rainfall across the country, this year.

However, the Mumbai Metropolitan region is poised for a heavy spell in the first week of July with the weather bureau issuing an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rainfall across Mumbai, Thane and Palghar districts starting July 1. Meanwhile, Raigad district, which encompasses Navi Mumbai, is forecast to experience ‘extremely heavy’ spells on July 2 with the IMD sounding a red alert.

For perspective, orange alert is issued in the likelihood of 115.6 mm to 204.4 mm rain in a span of 24 hours while a red warning is sounded amid possibility of extremely heavy rainfall above 204.4 mm within a day.

Nayonika Bose is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express’ Mumbai bureau. While in the early stages of her career, her focused reporting on local governance and community welfare already demonstrates clear Expertise and Trustworthiness in covering essential civic issues impacting Mumbai's residents.

Expertise & Authority (E-E-A-T)

Specialized Focus: Nayonika's reporting is dedicated to civic and community issues, providing readers with highly relevant, ground-level information about the functionality and administration of India's largest metropolitan area.

Core Coverage Areas: Her articles highlight a strong focus on the fundamental quality of life and public safety in Mumbai, including:

Civic Infrastructure: Reports on critical failures and initiatives related to public works, such as the recurring problem of unauthorized building collapses in Navi Mumbai, the construction of new infrastructure projects (like the Dahisar-Bhayandar Link Road and the Mahalaxmi cable-stayed bridge), and the maintenance of essential city services (e.g., manhole cover theft).

Urban Governance & Crisis Management: Provides detailed coverage of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) response to major crises, particularly during the monsoon (e.g., heavy rainfall, water cuts, and public health concerns like dengue and malaria) and large-scale public safety incidents (e.g., the hoarding collapse fallout).

Community Welfare & Rights: Reports on key social issues, including the financial aid scheme for persons with disabilities, the struggles of Mumbai's hawkers protesting eviction drives, and the dangers faced by workers due to the continuation of manual scavenging in water tanks.

Cultural & Heritage Reporting: Covers significant community stories, including the restoration of British-era fountains and the history of institutions like the 126-year-old Chinchpokli cemetery, showing a breadth of interest beyond pure administration.

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