The monsoon has roared back to life across the country. In Maharashtra, a red alert over Mumbai and Raigad has come with rain heavy enough to bring the region to a standstill, while alerts of varying intensity now stretch from Rajasthan to Uttarakhand, and cover Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha as well. On Sunday, July 5, rain showed no sign of easing in Mumbai, Thane and Pune, and in under a week, incidents of falling trees and a river drowning have already claimed several lives.
Maharashtra: Red Alert Over Mumbai-Raigad as Rain Grinds the City to a Halt
As rain intensified once again in Mumbai, the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) railway station in Kurla was submerged, adding to the woes of commuters already battered by days of continuous rain. Vehicles crawled at a snail's pace along waterlogged roads. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has made clear that no relief from the rain is in sight for now. The department had issued a red alert for Mumbai and Thane on Saturday, July 4, at 7 pm, citing heavy rain and waterlogging, while an orange alert was declared for the Konkan region and Pune. The very next day, Sunday, July 5, the IMD issued a fresh red alert for Mumbai and Raigad district for the following three hours, in view of the heavy rain that had continued unabated since Saturday night. In the preceding 23 hours, some parts of Mumbai had already recorded more than 250 to 300 millimetres of rainfall. The weather department forecast that spells of moderate to intense rain would continue in these areas.
Thane: 48 Hours of Non-Stop Rain, Two Hurt as Building Gallery Collapses
Two straight days of relentless rain brought normal life in Maharashtra's Thane district to a complete halt. Officials said on Sunday, July 5, that the spell caused widespread waterlogging, brought down a large number of trees, and led to the collapse of a building's gallery, injuring two people. Thane's Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) received a total of 93 complaints in the preceding 24 hours, including 24 cases of uprooted trees, 22 of broken branches, 24 of waterlogging, 8 of collapsed boundary walls and one landslide. Floodwater entered low-lying areas of Thane city, Kalyan, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar, Dombivli and Navi Mumbai, leaving large numbers of residents stranded inside their own homes.
Mumbai Airport Operations Take a Heavy Hit
Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds forced Mumbai's international airport to suspend runway operations entirely for an hour on Sunday, July 5, severely disrupting flight services. The shutdown at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport lasted from 10:17 am to 11:17 am. Every flight moving in or out during this window was affected, with departing passengers facing an average additional wait of 75 minutes and arriving passengers facing at least 28 minutes of extra delay. According to data from the live flight-tracking website flightradar24.com, 87 percent of departures from the airport were delayed, while 62 percent of arriving flights landed late. The hour-long shutdown led IndiGo to cancel four flights, while 13 inbound flights operated by various airlines had to be diverted to nearby airports, though all 13 later returned and landed safely in Mumbai. Updated figures showed that 90 percent of departures from Mumbai's international airport were leaving with an average delay of 65 minutes, while 45 percent of arrivals were also running late, causing considerable distress to passengers.
Mumbai's Toll From Falling Trees Climbs to Three
As heavy rain continued to lash Mumbai on Sunday, July 5, separate incidents of falling trees killed an 18-year-old motorcyclist and an elderly citizen. With these deaths, the toll from such accidents in the city has climbed to three in under a week. Civic officials said that around 12:40 pm, a tree fell on a shop right next to a Hindi-medium BMC school in the Naupada area of Kurla West. The deceased was identified as Yunus Kundawala, who was pulled out from the debris and rushed to Fauzia Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. In a separate incident, an 18-year-old man died in the Aarey Colony area of Goregaon East when a tree branch fell on him while he was riding his motorcycle. Around the same time, another person died in a tree-fall incident in Kurla. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed to residents not to take shelter under trees, as wind speeds in the city have crossed 77 kilometres per hour.
Bullet Train Work Delayed, Schools and Colleges Shut in Mumbai
Citing bad weather in Mumbai, the railway ministry postponed the formal launch ceremony for tunnel-boring work under the bullet train project. However, the ministry directed the concerned officials to begin actual excavation work immediately. Ministry officials said Mumbai has been receiving continuous rain for several days and the IMD has issued red and orange alerts for the next couple of days. The ministry clarified that the decision was limited to the formal ceremony, taken to avoid delaying the project itself, and that orders had already been given to start construction work right away. Separately, in view of the orange alert for heavy rain, Mumbai's civic administration has declared a holiday for all government, private and corporation-run schools and colleges in the city on Monday, July 6, 2026. The BMC, in an official notice issued on Sunday evening, July 5, 2026, said the decision was taken to prioritise the safety of students. The notice also clarified that government and private offices will function as usual, while urging citizens to step out of their homes only if absolutely necessary.
Politics Heats Up Over BMC as Varsha Gaikwad Targets BJP
Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad on Sunday, July 5, 2026, blamed the BJP for the deteriorating state of the city's civic infrastructure, saying the party cannot escape accountability after holding effective control over the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for nearly three decades. In her statement, Gaikwad said the BJP has held power in the BMC for the past 30 years, first for 25 years in alliance with the Shiv Sena, and since 2022, through a government-appointed administrator because civic body elections have not been held. She further claimed that the BJP continues to hold its grip over civic administration even today, and therefore cannot distance itself from the city's current state of disrepair.
Pune: Housing Society Wall Collapses, 14 Vehicles Damaged
In Pune, Maharashtra, the boundary wall of a residential society collapsed due to heavy rain on the morning of Sunday, July 5, 2026, damaging at least 14 vehicles. Fire department officials confirmed the incident. There was some relief in that no casualties were reported in the wall collapse.
Gujarat: Ahmedabad Drenched, Monsoon Strengthens Over Saurashtra-Kutch
Late into the night of Saturday, July 4, and through the morning of Sunday, July 5, thunder and lightning accompanied heavy rain that drenched several parts of Ahmedabad, offering relief from the humidity and heat that had built up in the city. Rain was recorded across many areas, including both the eastern and western parts of the city, and temperatures dropped noticeably as a result. According to the IMD, the monsoon remains active over Gujarat, and spells of thunderstorm-accompanied rain are likely to continue over Ahmedabad and several other districts in the coming days. In a related update, the IMD said on Sunday, July 5, 2026, that the monsoon has become active over Gujarat, and conditions remain favourable for it to advance further into other parts of the state as well as the north Arabian Sea. The highest rainfall on Sunday was recorded at Rajula in Amreli district, at 228 mm, followed by Dhari at 174 mm and Khamba at 140 mm. Given the heavy rain, the Amreli district administration appealed to the public to use alternative routes as roads in Jafrabad and Rajula remain closed. In its evening forecast, the IMD said, \"The monsoon remained active over Saurashtra-Kutch and was normal over the Gujarat region. Extremely heavy rainfall was recorded at a few isolated places in the Amreli and Bhavnagar districts of Saurashtra.\"
Rajasthan: Solar Panels Crash Down in Jaisalmer, Rain Across Districts
On the night of Saturday, July 4, amid a fierce storm and heavy rain in Jaisalmer, solar panels installed on a hotel's roof were torn loose and crashed down onto the road below. The accident left an elderly man riding a scooter and his two grandchildren critically injured. Police said the incident occurred in the Gandhi Colony area, where stormy winds ripped the solar panels off the hotel's roof. Separately, light to moderate rain fell across many parts of Rajasthan in the preceding 24 hours. The weather department said on Sunday, July 5, that Salumbar in Udaipur district recorded the highest rainfall at 6 centimetres. In eastern Rajasthan, Sangod in Kota recorded 5 centimetres of rain, while Chauth Ka Barwara in Sawai Madhopur and Bakani and Jhalrapatan in Jhalawar district each recorded 3 centimetres. Aaspur in Dungarpur, Pipalda in Kota, Jagpur in Banswara and Dungla in Chittorgarh each recorded 2 centimetres of rain, while Arnod in Pratapgarh, Pindwara in Sirohi, Bagidora in Banswara and Aklera in Jhalawar each recorded 1 centimetre.
Uttarakhand: Surveillance Stepped Up on the Kedarnath Pilgrim Route
With continuous rain in Uttarakhand triggering landslides and swelling river levels, authorities on Sunday stepped up surveillance along the Shri Kedarnath pilgrimage route in Rudraprayag district and tightened safety measures further to ensure the safe movement of pilgrims. Rudraprayag's District Disaster Management Office (DDMO) has appealed to Kedarnath pilgrims to stay alert amid the rain and landslides. Disaster management personnel have been deployed at all vulnerable spots along the trekking route, while the district disaster management control room is monitoring the entire pilgrimage route round the clock.
Delhi-NCR: Waterlogging in Gurugram and the Capital
Moderate rain fell across several parts of Delhi, bringing relief from the humid heat that had gripped the capital. According to official data, Chhatarpur recorded the highest rainfall of 49 millimetres by 2:30 pm. IMD data showed that, by the same time, Gurugram had recorded 35 mm, Mehrauli 18 mm, Greater Noida 17 mm, Najafgarh 8 mm and Janakpuri 7 mm. Meanwhile, officials said rain in Gurugram on Sunday, July 5, 2026, caused waterlogging in several parts of the city, leading to traffic congestion. However, traffic police claimed that vehicular movement continued to flow smoothly. According to the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), reports of waterlogging came in from Narsinghpur, Rajiv Chowk, AIT Chowk, Khandsa Road and parts of old Gurugram. An official said no waterlogging issues were observed at any underpass in the city that day, and all of them remained open to traffic throughout the day.
Uttar Pradesh: Ganga Expressway Link Road Caves In at Unnao
Heavy rain lashed several parts of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, July 5, 2026, after which the IMD forecast more rain, thunderstorms and lightning at various places in the state over the following 24 hours. The weather office for Lucknow and its surrounding areas predicted partly cloudy skies with the development of thunderclouds. According to weather department data, Muzaffarnagar recorded 9 mm of rain by 5:30 pm. Prayagraj and Varanasi airport each recorded 8.8 mm, Meerut recorded 7 mm, Azamgarh 6.8 mm, and Etawah and Churk 2 mm each. Varanasi BHU recorded 1.8 mm, Ghazipur and Shahjahanpur 1.2 mm each, and Gorakhpur 0.7 mm. Separately, in Unnao district, a section of the road connecting the Kanpur-Lucknow national highway to the Ganga Expressway caved in after the first monsoon rain, as the soil beneath the road washed away. Officials said that on Sunday, July 5, 2026, around seven metres of the link road near Bashirganj in the Sonik area sank at the point where it joins the Ganga Expressway, after which repair work was started. Local residents allege that adequate slope protection and soil-retention measures, as required by standards, were not put in place along the road, which is why it collapsed in the very first spell of monsoon rain.
Alerts in Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand
Himachal Pradesh received light to moderate rain on Sunday, July 5, 2026, after which the Shimla weather centre issued an orange alert warning of heavy to very heavy rain in parts of the state over the next two days. The orange alert applies to Una, Kangra and Sirmaur districts on Monday, and to Kangra, Solan and Sirmaur districts on Tuesday. Ghamroor recorded the highest rainfall in the state at 84.2 millimetres, followed by Dharamshala at 39.2 mm, Naina Devi at 28.2 mm, Murari Devi at 26.2 mm, Dharampur at 16.2 mm, Mashobra at 16 mm, Kukumseri at 15.6 mm, Malrawn at 15 mm, Una at 14.2 mm, Kasauli and Bharmour at 14 mm each, Kahu at 13.2 mm, Shimla at 12.4 mm and Dehra Gopipur at 11.6 mm. In Jharkhand, the IMD has forecast light to moderate rain with thunder, lightning and strong winds over the next four days. The department has declared a yellow alert for thunder and lightning at various places across all 24 districts of the state from July 6 to 9. Winds of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour are also expected to blow during this period. According to the IMD bulletin, heavy rain is likely in Garhwa, Palamu, Chatra, Hazaribagh, Latehar, Lohardaga, Gumla and Ranchi districts on Monday, July 6, 2026.
Odisha on High Alert as Depression Deepens Over the Bay of Bengal
All districts of Odisha have been placed on high alert after an active low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression. Heavy rainfall is strongly likely in the coastal state over the coming days. The IMD said the area of pressure that had built up over the northwest Bay of Bengal and the adjoining areas of the north Odisha-West Bengal coast has now concentrated into a depression. Its centre was located about 50 kilometres south-southeast of Balasore and south-southwest of Digha. The department said this weather system is likely to cross the north Odisha coast between Chandbali and Digha within the next 24 hours.
Thane: Teenager Swept Away in Swollen River
A 17-year-old boy died on Sunday, July 5, 2026, in the Kamvari river in Bhiwandi town amid torrential rain in Thane district. The teenager, a resident of Gabhi Nagar, had gone to the riverbank with friends in the evening to catch crabs, but the swift current of the rain-swollen river swept him away. A municipal official said a search operation to recover the body is still underway.
