Mumbai, India's financial capital and home to over 12 million people, just experienced its wettest May in more than 100 years.
What's happening?
As reported by CNN, more than 400 millimeters of rain (around 15.7 inches) fell nationwide by May 27, most of it during a sudden weekend downpour triggered by an unusually early monsoon.
The floods were so intense that they shut down parts of the city's transportation system, including the newly inaugurated Worli Metro Station. Video clips showed water pouring down staircases, gushing through train platforms, and leaving travelers wading knee-deep.
Sushma Nair of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), whose team recorded the city's wettest May since 1918, said that the onset of the southwest monsoon in Mumbai on May 26 is the earliest advancement over the city since 1950.
Flooding also affected cities across India, including Delhi and parts of Kerala, where the early monsoon offered some relief from a searing heatwave.
Why is the flooding concerning?
While seasonal rains are crucial to India's agriculture and water supply, the increased unpredictability of the monsoon is putting millions of lives and livelihoods at risk.
A growing body of research shows a clear link between rising temperatures and the severity of flooding. World Weather Attribution researchers concluded that extreme flash flooding in Nepal last year, which caused more than $95 million in damage, was made 70% more likely by global heating.
Research is also challenging what we thought we knew about flooding. A study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment found that road-level flooding in coastal communities like Beaufort, North Carolina, occurs far more frequently than tide gauges alone indicate.
More rainfall, rising sea levels, and rapid urban development are making flood disasters more dangerous and more expensive. They damage infrastructure, drive up insurance costs, and put lives at risk, as seen in last year's deadly billboard collapse in Mumbai following a May downpour.
What's being done to help?
Governments and communities can take steps to build resilience against floods by upgrading infrastructure and improving drainage systems. Cities like New York and Shanghai have pioneered sponge city designs, which help absorb excess rainwater and prevent catastrophic overflow.
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