India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red and orange alerts respectively for most districts of Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra, warning of very heavy rain till July 15. These districts include Palghar, Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur and Satara. An orange alert is also in place for Pune on July 14 & July 15, mainly over its ghat areas. The southwest monsoon is slowly turning into its active phase over the state. On July 11, a low pressure system off the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast, formed over the Bay of Bengal. The westerly winds blowing from the Arabian Sea, too, have strengthened, which will add to the prevailing favourable conditions leading to widespread rainfall over Maharashtra. In the days ahead, an offshore trough is likely to develop between Maharashtra and Kerala. It will further push moisture-laden westerlies along coasts of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka & Kerala, causing intense rainfall. Extremely heavy rain (more than 204.4 mm in 24 hours) is forecast on July 12 over Konkan and Goa and during the remaining days, very heavy rain (115.4 to 204.4mm in 24 hours) shall continue till July 15. Madhya Maharashtra will experience very heavy rain till July 15, according to the latest forecast by the IMD on July 11.
