Heavy rain warning in Maharashtra: IMD issues red alert in Raigad, Ratnagiri; orange alert for Mumbai, Ghats

The IMD has issued an orange alert for Mumbai for May 23 and 24, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds reaching speeds of 50 to 60 kilometres per hour at isolated places.

'Red' and 'orange’ alerts were issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday for several districts in Maharashtra. The alerts were issued by IMD for the next few days and predicted extremely heavy to very heavy rainfall.

IMD has issued a 'red' alert for Raigad on May 23 and for Ratnagiri district for May 22 and 23 forecasting the likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall.

Orange alert for Mumbai

IMD also issued an orange alert for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Sindhudurg as well as ghats of Pune and Satara during this period for heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds.

The IMD has issued an orange alert for Mumbai for May 23 and 24, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds reaching speeds of 50 to 60 kilometres per hour at isolated places.

The IMD attributed this weather activity to the formation of a low-pressure system over east-central Arabian Sea off the coast of south Konkan and Goa.It is likely to intensify and bring intense showers across Konkan and other parts of Maharashtra, the IMD has predicted.

An orange alert is issued when heavy rainfall is anticipated, typically exceeding 115.6 mm and up to 204.4 mm within 24 hours, while a yellow alert is issued when there is a chance of moderate rainfall of 64.5 mm to 115.5 mm.

"A low pressure will likely form around May 22 in the east-centre Arabian Sea and off the Karnataka coast. Looking into that synoptic situation, a yellow and an orange alert have been issued for the Maharashtra coast, South Konkan, including Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg," scientist Shubhangi Bhute of IMD's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Mumbai, told ANI.

"The orange alert has been issued for May 21-22, and the yellow alert has been issued for North Konkan, including Mumbai. The rest of the ghat regions of Maharashtra--Nashik, Pune, and others--will have a windspeed of 50-60 kmph with heavy rainfall," she said.

Meanwhile, parts of south Mumbai experienced downpour on Thursday evening, giving some respite to the metropolis’ citizens from the summer heat.

The IMD on Wednesday had said that a low-pressure area was likely to form over the East Central Arabian Sea off the North Karnataka-Goa coasts and predicted it would likely move northwards and intensify further into a depression during the subsequent 36 hours.

The weather department also issued a series of warnings for fishermen across various coastal regions of India due to rough sea conditions.

A total suspension of fishing operations over the east-central and adjoining northeast Arabian Sea has been declared for May 25-26.

During the same period, fishermen were also warned against venturing along and off the Somalia coast and the adjoining southwest Arabian Sea.

Further, fishermen are advised not to venture along and off the Andhra Pradesh coast and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal from May 21-26 and over the Andaman Sea on 26th May. Meteorologists have closely monitored the evolving system as it shows signs of further intensification.