IIT Gandhinagar builds AI “digital twin” to predict urban floods before monsoon hits

Gandhinagar: Researchers at IIT Gandhinagar’s ARC Centre have developed a physics-guided AI system that lets cities “rehearse” the monsoon before it arrives.

Instead of reacting after roads flood, officials can now see in real time which neighbourhoods will flood first, how deep water will rise, where traffic will choke, and which fixes will work best.

The system uses digital twins — virtual replicas of cities — to test solutions like pumps or wider drains before spending public money. It combines the speed of AI with the accuracy of physics to run rapid flood simulations.

Built for Indian cities, the team used local data, low-cost sensors, and even citizen reports of waterlogging to train the models. A pilot is underway in Gurugram.

Beyond floods, the platform is being expanded to model heat, traffic, and dam-release risks.