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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued a red alert for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar, warning of intense spells of rain at isolated places as an active monsoon system is expected to trigger widespread rainfall across large parts of the country over the next four to five days.

 

According to the IMD, the active spell is being driven by a well-marked low-pressure area over the northwest Bay of Bengal. Under its influence, central India is likely to witness widespread rainfall, while several states are expected to receive heavy to extremely heavy showers through next week.

 

The weather office forecast isolated extremely heavy rainfall over Konkan and Gujarat from July 4 to 7, Madhya Maharashtra between July 4 and 6, Saurashtra and Odisha on July 4 and 5, and West Madhya Pradesh on July 4.

 

In north India, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Chandigarh are likely to receive isolated to scattered rainfall on July 4 and 5 and again on July 9 and 10, with more widespread rainfall expected between July 6 and 8. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are likely to witness widespread rain throughout July 4 to 10, while Jammu and Kashmir is expected to receive intermittent showers during the same period.

Also read: IMD issues a yellow alert in Puri, forecasting 'heavy rainfall'

 

The IMD also warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-60 kmph across parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. Similar conditions are likely over Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Vidarbha over the coming days.

 

In eastern and northeastern India, heavy rainfall has been forecast for Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha are also expected to receive widespread rainfall, with moderate to intense lightning activity forecast over Jharkhand on Saturday.

 

Southern states, including Kerala, coastal Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, are also likely to receive widespread rainfall.

 

Separately, the IMD issued a red alert for several districts of Odisha, including Sambalpur, Boudh, Kalahandi, Subarnapur and Angul, warning of extremely heavy rainfall over the next 24 hours.