Mumbai - Flooding after monsoon rains
Monsoon and regional disparities
978-3-14-100890-6 | Page 122 | Ill. 3
Overview
The map shows natural hazards and selected environmental problems for the Mumbai region (Mumbai City and the Mumbai Suburban District together form Greater Mumbai, whose border is shown on the map).
Summer monsoon rainfall in Mumbai is particularly high (see climate diagram). The precipitation in the month of July alone is almost 140% of the total annual precipitation of Berlin. This high rainfall is due to the location directly on the sea and the winds blowing from the sea in summer, which cause upslope rains on the Western Ghats located east of Mumbai.
Monsoonal flooding in Mumbai
As a result, the low-lying marshlands in the east and northwest of Mumbai are threatened by flooding, but about a third of the built-up area of the city is also affected - with devastating consequences for the city and its inhabitants. Since there are only a few remaining undeveloped flood-safe areas in Mumbai, there is little scope to build flood-safe neighbourhoods.
Many residents of Mumbai's numerous marginal settlements have neither a connection to the drinking water supply nor to the sewage system. Wastewater seeps into the ground or enters the sea via watercourses. There, at a short distance from the coast, some of the pipes of the central sewage system of the other districts of Mumbai and the settlements in the hinterland end. Only a part of the sewage produced there is treated in sewage treatment plants. The sea is therefore heavily contaminated with pollutants and waste.
Mumbai's drinking water supply is mainly dependent on the hinterland. There is a water protection area in the centre of Salsette Island and some waterworks in the city area. However, they alone cannot meet the demand. In addition, there are risks to Mumbai's drinking water supply as a result of the monsoon floods and the often uncontrolled discharge of sewage.
