Heavy rainfall belt 'moves southwards': IMD downgrades red alert for Mumbai and Thane

Mumbai, June 12: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday evening downgraded its "red alert" warning of "extremely heavy rain" in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane district for the next two days. The warning has been now changed to "orange alert", which means "heavy to very heavy rain".

"Extremely heavy rainfall belt has shifted south wards. So warnings are downgraded. Still, IMD expects heavy to very heavy rainfall in the city and suburbs," said Shubhangi Bhute, deputy director, IMD Mumbai.

Earlier at 1 pm, IMD Mumbai had sounded a red alert for Mumbai and Thane districts along with Raigad and Ratnagiri districts in Konkan predicting "thunderstorms with lightning, gusty winds and extremely heavy rain at isolated places."

But it issued a revised forecast at 5.30 pm, which retained the red alert for Raigad and Ratnagiri but downgraded it for Mumbai and Thane.

K S Hosalikar, a senior IMD official based in Pune, said the cyclonic circulation in the Arabian Sea has weakened, resulting in weakening of the weather system.

"Still, we could get some intense spells," he said. Mumbai has been facing heavy downpour for the past three-four days. After the IMD''s red alert on Friday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had sounded a high alert.