Mumbai and Thane are expected to receive “heavy to very heavy” rainfall at a few places on Wednesday, the Indian Meteorological Department has said. It has declared a Red alert —extremely heavy rainfall—at isolated pockets in Palghar district. The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms across Maharashtra over the next four days. The Orange alert for Mumbai and Thane today comes a day before the start of the Ganpati festival.

Sindhudurg and Dhule are on Orange alert on Wednesday as well. Heavy rainfall is expected across the entire Konkan belt up until September 11 due to the formation of a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal which has now moved to over south Chattisgarh, said IMD. It said the well-marked low-pressure area and its remnants are “very likely to move North West over the next 4-5 days”. A Yellow alert—heavy rain—has also been issued for Mumbai on Thursday. Authorities have instructed fishermen not to venture out to sea.