IMD issues orange alert for heavy rainfall in Chennai

Owing to an evolving weather system in the Bay of Bengal, off India’s southeast coast, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for heavy (up to 11 cm) to very heavy rainfall (up to 20 cm) in Chennai city and adjoining districts of Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu and Kanchipuram, for Wednesday, 18th December. 

Similarly, a yellow alert has been issued for Villupuram and Cuddalore districts, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

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Presently classified as a ‘Low-Pressure Area,’ the weather system is expected to intensify into a ‘Well marked Low-Pressure Area’ and move north-northwestwards towards Tamil Nadu Coasts during the next 2 days, said the IMD. In meteorology, a ‘Low Pressure Area’ is associated with stormy weather, gusty winds, rough sea conditions, and rainfall. 

A yellow alert for heavy rainfall (up to 11 cm) has been issued for Thursday, 19th December, for Chennai, and the adjoining districts of Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu and Kanchipuram. 

Due to the impact of the weather system, a warning has been issued, advising fishermen against venturing along the Tamil Nadu coast, and parts of the South Andhra Pradesh coast where winds could be gusting at speeds of up to 55 kmph. The warning for fishermen is applicable until Saturday, 21st December. 

The October-December period is the Northeast monsoon season, which brings rains to India’s eastern coastal states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha.