Incessant rains have battered Mumbai and its suburbs for four consecutive days, disrupting normal life across the city. Experts have warned that climate change is intensifying extreme rainfall events and stressed the urgent need for early warning systems and adaptation strategies. Mumbai rains LIVE: IMD issues orange alert; airlines announce travel advisoryThe India Meteorology Department (IMD) has predicted that heavy rains will continue for the next 24 hours, after which the intensity is expected to decline, though moderate showers will persist. Rainfall crosses monthly average After a dry July, extremely heavy rains returned to Mumbai around August 16. By the afternoon of August 19, the city had recorded more than 800 mm of rainfall, surpassing its monthly average of 560.8 mm. Multiple weather systems behind torrential rains Meteorologists have attributed the intense downpour to the alignment of multiple weather systems. “A low-pressure area over Vidarbha, a cyclonic circulation over the Northeast Arabian Sea, a depression over the Bay of Bengal, and an active offshore Monsoon trough have resulted in vigorous Monsoon conditions over coastal Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president of Meteorology and Climate Change at Skymet Weather. He added that when such systems align simultaneously, they “tend to complement each other, intensifying weather activity.”