Big budgets and plans but Mumbai’s climate preparedness misses the margins

Mumbai’s early monsoon and rising heatwaves expose deep gaps in climate preparedness. Despite big plans and budgets under MCAP, vulnerable communities remain overlooked and underserved

Mansi Bhaktwani

Pic credit: Wikimedia Commons

In 2025, Mumbai, along with several other parts of India, experienced the early onset of summer in February, followed by record-high temperatures and intense heatwaves, and heavy rainfall in May, which disrupted daily life across the region. Following the India Meteorological Department (IMD) alerts and  National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines, the State Environment & Climate Change Department, and several local authorities issued advisories and prepared city-specific Heat Action Plans (HAPs) to address the growing risks of rising heat on health and livelihoods of people. 

Mumbai has been experiencing a rise in heatwave days due to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, which is caused by increased construction, reduced green cover, and heat-retaining infrastructure materials. 

This year, the southwest monsoon arrived in Mumbai in May, nearly two weeks early, says IMD. This happened for the first time since 1950, bringing the city to a standstill. 

Poor drainage maintenance led to widespread waterlogging and affected all modes of transport. For instance, the suburban local trains that ferry lakhs of commuters up and down the city every day faced delays and slowdowns all across. Waterlogging at stations like Dadar, Kurla and Bandra, which are important junctions for switching lines, had a cascading effect on all four lines - Central, Western, Harbour and Trans Harbour, leaving people stranded for hours at stations, or worse, on the tracks.

Commuters, however, weren’t the only affected group. As is the case every year, residents of informal settlements proved to be the most vulnerable, again. And they still have an entire season of rains to get through. 

Maharashtra has the largest number of slums in India with Mumbai leading the list with more than 11.8 million or half its population in informal settlements. 

“They were preparing for the rainy season, but it came early. Many couldn’t complete their shelters made of reused banners, plastic, or tarpaulins. They lost food grains and important documents,” said Sitaram Shelar, director at the Centre for Promoting Democracy and Pani Hakk Samiti, speaking with The Migration Story.

Residents of these informal settlements include conservancy workers who clean sewage drains and handle mud that comes out of repair and construction work through subcontractors. 

Informal settlements in Mumbai experience land surface temperatures 5-8 degrees higher than neighbouring regions. Of the 287 landslide-prone areas in the city, 200 are in slum regions, accounting for 70% of high-risk zones, according to the World Resources Institute (WRI) India report titled ‘Climate Resilient Cities: Assessing Differential Vulnerability to Climate Hazards in Urban India.’ 

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued advisories urging residents in slums located on hill slopes, such as those in N ward - parts of Vikhroli West, Parksite, and Ghatkopar West - to relocate to avoid accidents and property loss. 

On June 12, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered the drafting of a policy for the rehabilitation of slum dwellers in hilly, landslide-prone areas. This was discussed at a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) review meeting held at the Shayadri guest house, at Malabar Hills. The meeting was focused on expediting the ongoing rehabilitation process and introducing targeted reforms to address critical urban challenges.  

To tackle long-term climate risks, the BMC along with World Resources Institute (WRI) India, a research organisation focused on sustainability and climate resilience, drafted, and launched the Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP) in 2022 to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. A vulnerability assessment identified rising temperatures and extreme rainfall events as key threats. It flagged urban flooding risks for over 35% of Mumbai’s population, with Sion-Wadala listed as having 54 flood hotspots, one of the highest in the city.

The MCAP highlights vulnerable groups, such as informal settlement residents, low-income populations, the elderly, children, and people with existing health issues, and aims to support them through mitigation and adaptation strategies. Eastern suburbs like Govandi, Deonar, Mankhurd, and Kurla East were identified as high-risk zones. Interventions include drainage upgrades, green infrastructure, and climate-sensitive healthcare.

To address these threats more effectively, MCAP outlines six key focus areas: sustainable waste management, urban greening and biodiversity, urban flooding, water resource management, building energy efficiency, air quality, and sustainable mobility. To operationalize the plan, BMC set up a Climate Action Cell with WRI India’s assistance to upgrade skills and staff capacity for achieving the climate-related goals.

Despite the detailed framework, however, questions around implementation remain. 

“MCAP was drafted with minimal public participation and must be restructured with clearer mechanisms,” Debi Goenka, Executive Trustee, Conservation Action Trust, told The Migration Story. “Authorities must be more sensitive and engage meaningfully with communities.”

After the devastating 2005 floods, BMC initiated the Brimstowad drainage upgrade plan, which was meant to prevent future monsoon disasters, yet remains incomplete. Additions such as wider stormwater drains and pumping stations haven’t closed the infrastructure gap. Authorities blame encroachments and legal hurdles for delays.

“There’s very little on-ground implementation in critical areas such as waste management, sewage systems, walkability, and the water cycle,” said Rishi Aggarwal, founder of Mumbai Sustainability Centre, speaking to The Migration Story. He added that climate goals lack institutional support and political continuity,

On this World Environment Day, BMC released its second climate budget of Rs 17,000 crores, or 37% of its capital expenditure. Priorities include biomining the Deonar dumping ground, procuring electric BEST buses, stabilising hill slopes, and a desalination plant to improve water supply. Most funds went to Urban Flooding and Water Resource Management, followed by Waste Management and Energy Renewal.

BMC data shows greenhouse gas emissions dipped from 26.7 million tons in 2019-20 to 23.7 million in 2021, but rose slightly to 24.56 million in 2022.

But for those living informally in the city, the change is elusive.

Despite being listed as focus wards under MCAP, areas like M-East, M-West, and P-North — which include Govandi, Mankhurd, Chembur (East), Tilak Nagar, parts of Malad, and Malvani Nagar — continue to reflect a stark gap between planning and reality.

“We work in these wards. On paper, they are focus areas, but on the ground, very little has changed, especially in water and sanitation access. Politically, there’s no will to extend access to vulnerable communities,” said Shelar.

The torrtential rains in May that came early and took the city by surprise left  59 locations submerged, from swanky Colaba to suburban Nehru Nagar, Kurla to important spots in the city like the Mantralaya and the Churchgate railway station. Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani directed all BMC wards to initiate clean-up drives, clearing debris, waste from roads and drains between May 29 to June 15.

Further, a house wall collapsed in Bhandup West’s Punjabi Chawl in Hanuman Nagar, injuring three people, including two children. The tragic accident occurred around 7 am on June 24, 2025, in a crowded settlement located alongside a drain. The emergency teams from the BMC, Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), local police and ward-level staff swiftly reached the site to investigate the cause of the mishap and inspect other nearby locations for preventive measures. 

And the city may still need to gear up for the worst, with the intensity of extreme rainfall events in India expected to increase by 43% due to climate change, leading to hotter and wetter conditions, according to a study by IPE Global and Esri India. Titled "Weathering the Storm: Managing Monsoons in a Warming Climate", the study analysed district-level spatial and temporal assessments to develop heat stress scenarios for the years 2030 and 2040.

This isn’t a new trend. As global temperatures rise, India has already experienced changes in the intensity, frequency, and unpredictability of extreme heat and rainfall over the past few decades, according to the Infrastructure Professionals Enterprise (IPE), a policy think tank, and an Esri Global study, which provides Geographic Information System (GIS) solutions for sustainable development and governance. In 2020, Germanwatch, an NGO focused on global sustainability, ranked India as the seventh most vulnerable country to climate-related risks, which are expected to lead to more frequent heatwave days and irregular rainfall patterns. 

Various cities and districts, including Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Surat, Thane, Hyderabad, Patna, and Bhubaneswar, may see a two-fold increase in the number of heatwave days, according to the study. 

India has already experienced a 15-fold increase in heatwave days between 1993 and 2024, with a remarkable 19-fold increase in the last decade alone, according to IPE and Esri India. 

By 2030, eight out of ten districts in India are expected to experience multiple instances of erratic and incessant rainfall. States such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Manipur are projected to have over 75% of their districts facing the dual challenge of heat stress and erratic rainfall patterns.

Across India, various cities have taken early steps to adapt to climate stress. Ahmedabad has implemented its Heat Action Plan, while cities like Bengaluru, Nashik, and Solapur have developed similar frameworks. Experts believe that a more community-centred approach could make Mumbai’s response more effective and inclusive.  

With an increase in the climate budget for the financial year (FY) 2025-26, BMC has also expanded its reach by bringing in 29 agencies, including the Fire Brigade, MMRDA, Deonar Abattoir, Health Infrastructure Cell, School Infrastructure Cell, BEST and several others, to have climate-focused lenses for all projects. BMC has achieved 86.26% financial progress on its FY 2024-25 Climate Budget and 79.96% on the additional MCAP-linked budget, covering 739 climate-related projects. 

However, BMC’s Environment and Climate Change department is severely understaffed, with only four out of total 41 sanctioned positions currently filled. A full-fledged office, proposed in Worli, remains unestablished.

And while bureaucracy drags on, those living in informal settlements continue to be at risk.

This analysis will be updated once a response from the BMC is received.