Mumbai rain: IMD upgrades warning to ‘yellow’; orange alert issued for Palghar, Raigad | Mumbai news

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday upgraded its weather alert for Mumbai, issuing a yellow alert for the city until 8am. The IMD said it expects moderate to heavy rainfall (15.6 mm to 115.5 mm) on Friday, driven by strong westerly winds.

An orange alert was issued for the adjoining districts of Palghar and Raigad, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds in isolated areas.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced that all schools and colleges in its jurisdiction would resume normal operations on Friday after being closed the previous day.

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the BMC reassured residents that the weather conditions had returned to normal and life in Mumbai was proceeding smoothly.

“All schools and colleges in the BMC area will remain open regularly tomorrow, Friday, 26th July 2024. Parents are humbly requested not to believe any other information or rumours regarding school and college holidays and to rely only on official information from the BMC,” the civic body said.

However, in Raigad district, local authorities have ordered the closure of schools and colleges on Friday due to the heavy rainfall alert in the area.

Wednesday’s downpour led to major disruptions across Mumbai, with as many as 11 flights cancelled and 10 others diverted to nearby airports due to low visibility. Runway operations at Mumbai airport were halted twice, causing delays as visibility dropped to 300 meters, reported PTI. IndiGo and Air India were among the airlines affected, with passengers advised to check flight statuses and arrive early due to water-logging and traffic congestion in parts of the city.

A similar advice was posted on X by Akasa, urging people to reach the airport well in time due to heavy rains in Mumbai, saying that the water-logging may slow down traffic movement.