In a regular May morning, people in Ahmedabad woke up to an unexpected scene-heavy rain had turned many roads into rivers, causing major problems for daily life.
Rainfall began overnight and continued in the morning, flooding underpasses and creating long traffic jams. This kind of weather is unusual in May, and the city was not ready for it.
Heavy Rainfall in a Few Hours
The State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC) shared that Ahmedabad received 27.14mm of rain between 6 am and 8 am. This added to the 44.84mm average that fell during the night. Some areas saw even more rain. Jodhpur recorded the highest with 89mm, followed by Bodakdev with 64.9mm and Danapith with 44mm. The downpour caused water to collect in many parts of the city. Important underpasses like Makarba and Mithakhali had to be closed, making traffic worse.
City Struggles with Waterlogging
As a result of the rain, 50 locations in Ahmedabad experienced serious waterlogging. In some areas, the water did not go down for over four hours. Places like Kubernagar, IIMA Road, and the Sabarmati D Cabin Underpass were badly affected. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) reported how serious the situation was, and how hard it was for people to move around the city.
People’s Daily Life Affected
People going to work and college faced major delays. Pratik Patel, a commuter, shared, “Rain turned my usual one-hour commute from Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad into two frustrating hours today. Waterlogged roads, traffic jams, and delays made everything slower. It’s the same chaos every monsoon, year after year.” College students like Prakriti Shah also faced trouble, arriving late and wet because public transport was affected.
Weather Experts Explain the Rain
The sky stayed cloudy even after the rain stopped in most places, showing that the weather may not change soon. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) explained that the sudden rain was caused by an upper air cyclonic circulation over northwest Madhya Pradesh and a trough from the northeast Arabian Sea across Gujarat. These conditions caused rain, hailstorms, and strong winds-unusual for summer.
Dr. Ashok Kumar Das, Director of IMD Gujarat, said, “We have issued a red alert for May 7 in Bhavnagar and Amreli in the Saurashtra-Kutch region, where extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places, thunderstorms with lightning, and wind speeds of 60-70 km per hour in gusts were observed.” He also mentioned red alerts for Ahmedabad and other areas and an orange alert for the next day in several districts.
Due to rising water levels, authorities opened Gate No. 2 of the Vasna Barrage after the level reached 133.5 feet. Nearby villages were warned to stay alert in case of more flooding. This rare May weather event is a reminder that cities need to stay prepared for sudden changes in climate to protect people’s lives and daily routines.