Kerala rains: IMD warns of heavy rainfall and gusty winds; red alert for five districts

Most parts of Kerala witnessed an intensification in the weather activity in the past two days, fuelled by strong westerlies prevailing over the State in the lower troposphere level. The observatory in Kollam and Chavara recorded the highest rainfall of 80 mm each during the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday (July 19 2025), followed by Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram and Thodupuzha and Udumbannoor in Idukki with 70 mm each.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of rain in the category of very heavy for most parts of the State (115.5 mm to 204.4 mm of rain in 24 hours) except for four south Kerala districts on Friday. However, most parts of the State received only moderate to heavy rainfall.

Along with rain, gusty winds above 20 knots per hour is also prevailing across the State. The automatic weather station in Thiruvananthapuram recorded winds reaching 59 kmph, followed by Pathanamthitta (44 kmph) and Malappuram and Alappuzha (41 kmph each).

The weather agency issued a red alert for five districts – Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod – and an orange alert for Thrissur, Palakkad, Ernakulam, and Idukki on Saturday, where very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall is likely. The rest of the districts have been put on yellow alert, forecasting isolated heavy rains. The strong weather conditions are expected to continue on Sunday (July 20) as well.

As warned earlier, the northern and central parts of Kerala are expected to receive heavier rains, with Kannur and Kasaragod put on red alert on Sunday, and the rest of the State on orange alert, except for five southern districts.

Fresh low-pressure area

According to the IMD bulletins, the rain is expected to slightly subside after Sunday.

However, the monsoon will likely gain further strength as a fresh low-pressure area is likely to form over the northern Bay of Bengal around July 24.