The Indian cities of Mumbai and New Delhi were lashed by hard rain this week and severely affected life and killed around 31 in Mumbai alone. India heavy rains have affected every part of the country and monthly predictions were washed away by high-intensity rains lashing large swathes of the sub-continent.
New Delhi could also face severe rains over the next two days while thunderstorms and heavy rains could again lash Mumbai over the next few days. 31 people have been reported killed so far in the suburbs of Mumbai as landslides led to the collapse of several houses. A 3 storied building collapsed on the outskirts of New Delhi killing three.
Incessant rains continued in Mumbai flooding vast parts of the city of over 12 million. Traffic has been severely affected on key arteries while the suburban trains, its lifeline, remain paralyzed. Flights were also affected as water entered the airport.
India Heavy Rains Affect Both The Western And Eastern Coastal Regions
India heavy rains have affected the east parts of the country as Kolkata also experienced unusual weather patterns in June. Low lying areas of New Delhi and Mumbai continue to be flooded for the past several days. The world is in the grip of extreme weather conditions ranging from severe droughts and forest fires in western parts of the US and Canada, severe floods in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the collapse of a dam in China.
Mumbai recorded 9.8 inches (250 millimeters) of rain in 24 hours starting Sunday. While Mumbai regularly experiences severe rains between July and September during the monsoons, rainfalls have been particularly severe this year in the coastal city.
India heavy rains have experienced a threefold increase between 1950 and 2015. It has been interrupted by long periods of intense dry spells, leaving millions exposed to the extreme vagaries of climatic changes.
Read: Germany Floods Shocking In Its Intensity But The Blame Lies With Humans
Mumbai experienced its worst rainfall in 2005 when 37 inches (940 millimeters) of rain fell in one day over the city.
Increasingly variable weather patterns have made Mumbai particularly vulnerable. The Arabian Sea has seen an upsurge in cyclonic conditions as there has been a marked trend of intense and frequent storms on the western coast. There has been a 32% rise in the number of cyclones over the Arabian sea between 2014 and 2019.
