Nariman point will go under water by 2050- BMC Chief

Mumbai municipal corporation Iqbal Singh Chahal has predicted that within 25 to 30 years, South Mumbai's Nariman Point, the state secretariat will go be engulfed by the rising seawater level. By 2050, about 70 per cent of the city's A, B, C and D wards in south Mumbai will be under water due to climate change. He said that nature has been giving warnings, but if people do not "wake up" then the situation would turn "dangerous"."Eighty per cent of the areas like Cuffe Parade, Nariman Point and Mantralaya will be under water...Means going to disappear," he said. The disaster will not be for the next generation to witness, the civic chief said, adding that people from this generation only will see it as it might take place in another 25 years.

Speaking at the launch of Mumbai Climate Action Plan and its website at the hands of Maharashtra Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Friday, Chahal said that Mumbai is the first city in South Asia that is preparing its climate action plan and acting on it. "Earlier, we used to hear about climate change events like melting glaciers, but not directly affecting us. But now it has come to our doorstep," he added.

Chahal said that last year for the first time in 129 years, a cyclone (Nisarga) hit Mumbai and thereafter in the last 15 months, there have been three cyclones. After that, on August 5, 2020, about 5 to 5.5 feet water was accumulated at Nariman point." There was no cyclone warning that day, but considering the parameters, it was a cyclone," Chahal said. Highlighting that the city has witnessed some extreme weather conditions recently, he said that the city faced Tauktae cyclone in Mumbai and witnessed 214 mm rain on May 17, though monsoon arrives here on June 6 or 7.