IMD Issues Red Alert For Mumbai — BMC Declares Holiday For Schools And Colleges

The India Meteorological Department issued a "red" alert for Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Raigad on Wednesday, prompting the city's civic body to announce holiday for schools and colleges for Thursday. "Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Raigad are likely to witness extremely heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds at isolated places," IMD said in a release.

The Met department has also issued a "red alert" for Thursday for neighbouring states—Gujarat and Goa. "Extremely heavy rainfall may occur in Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Gujarat. While very heavy rainfall may occur over Saurashtra and Kutch," the official release stated.

Separately, Mumbai's civic body—Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation—announced holiday for schools and colleges for Thursday and advised people to stay indoors.

The Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim regions are also likely to witness extremely heavy rainfall. Eastern states and north-eastern states—Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya—are likely to witness very heavy rainfall.

Pune witnessed intense rainfall on Sept. 25, with heavy showers recorded between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Chinchwad led the city’s rain tally with 13 cm, closely followed by Shivaji Nagar at 12 cm and Wadgaonsheri at 7 cm.

In the Marathwada region, Washi experienced 12 cm of rainfall from 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 24 to 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 25. Northern Goa also saw significant rain, with Pernem recording 19 cm. Other notable locations included Sawantwadi at 16 cm, Palghar Agri at 15 cm, Malvan at 13 cm, and Panjim with 14 cm of rainfall.

The recent downpour in Mumbai has led to a significant surge in water levels, with the city's seven lakes now at 99% capacity, according to data released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.