Mumbai, May 25, 2025 — The southwest monsoon is expected to make landfall in Mumbai within the next two days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The department has downgraded the rainfall alert for the city from ‘orange’ to ‘yellow,’ signalling moderate to heavy rain and thunderstorms. Shubhangi Bhute, Director of IMD Mumbai, confirmed that conditions are favourable for the monsoon to advance and reach Maharashtra between the next two to three days.
A low-pressure area over the Arabian Sea has intensified into a depression and is moving toward Ratnagiri district, prompting the IMD to issue a red alert for Ratnagiri, Satara, and Kolhapur. These areas are expected to receive extremely heavy rainfall along with gusty winds reaching up to 50 kmph over the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, Mumbai and Thane remain under a yellow alert until May 28, with continued rain activity predicted for the Konkan coast and parts of western Maharashtra.
Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg will see the red alert downgraded to orange after 24 hours, which will continue through Wednesday. Similarly, Satara and Kolhapur, located in the hilly regions of western Maharashtra, will also see alerts lowered to orange as the system weakens inland.
In a related update, Maharashtra has already recorded its highest pre-monsoon rainfall in over three decades. From May 1 to May 23, the state received an average of 79.6 mm of rain, which is 844% above the normal average of 7.9 mm for this period. This is the highest since 1990, which saw 99.8 mm, and is approaching the all-time record of 113.6 mm set in 1918.
With strong wind patterns and the active depression over the Arabian Sea, meteorologists believe the monsoon will continue progressing rapidly across Maharashtra. Mumbai is likely to see the official onset of the rainy season early next week
