The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert in Mumbai, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in the city on Thursday. The IMD warned of heavy rain in Mumbai till Thursday afternoon, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. All schools and colleges in Mumbai will be closed in the wake of the heavy rainfall warning. Also, all Mumbai University exams scheduled on Thursday have been postponed.

The red alert, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places, is valid from 8 pm on Wednesday till July 27 afternoon and covers Mumbai city and suburban areas. Around 10:30 am, it was an orange alert for Mumbai.

"...considering the safety of the students, Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Mr. Iqbal Singh Chahal has declared a holiday for all primary, secondary and higher secondary schools and colleges of Mumbai Metropolis on Thursday 27th July 2023," the BMC said on Wednesday.

Besides, the BMC requested residents remain alert and "go out only if necessary". The civic body also urged them to "follow the instructions given from time to time through the administration".

The BMC also issued a helpline number and said, "In case of emergency, citizens should not panic and contact the helpline number 1916 of the Disaster Management Cell of the Municipal Corporation."

Moreover, all the Assistant Commissioners of the Municipal Corporation were directed to "deploy their teams along with the National Disaster Response Team in the prone areas and dangerous building sites, and also take necessary preventive steps to avoid possible accidents".

Mumbai registered its wettest July ever on Wednesday with the month so far witnessing a record 1557.8 mm rainfall, the IMD said. The previous wettest July on record was in 2020 when 1,502 mm rainfall was logged by the IMD's Santacruz observatory (representative of Mumbai's suburbs).

"From July 1 to July 26, 2023 morning 0830 hours (8.30 am), Santacruz (observatory) had recorded 1,433 mm. So today, this record for wettest July has been broken at 2030 (8.30 pm) on July 26, 2023, with the Santacruz observatory recording a total of 1557.8 mm so far,” the IMD said.

First Published:Jul 27, 2023 7:49 AM IST