Mumbai: An orange alert is in place for Mumbai and nearby areas with forecasts of heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and gusty winds up to 60 kmph.

After warning of thunderstorms in Delhi and issuing an orange alert for Mumbai, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for heavy to very heavy rain in some areas of Konkan and Goa.

The weather department also predicted very heavy rain for a few places in Assam, Meghalaya, Coastal Karnataka, Kerala, Mahe, and Madhya Maharashtra.

With a red alert in place, authorities have advised people to stay alert for any worsening weather conditions and be prepared to shift to safer locations if necessary.

Orange alert for Mumbai

An orange alert is in place for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Sindhudurg, and the ghats of Pune and Satara, with forecasts of heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and gusty winds up to 60 kmph.

Mumbai is under an orange alert for May 24.

IMD predicts moderate rainfall in Goa

The weather department has predicted widespread light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms, lightning, and strong winds blowing at speeds of 40-50 kmph over Konkan and Goa from May 23 to 29. 

There is also a forecast for very heavy rainfall at a few places between May 23 and 25, with chances of extremely heavy rain on May 25.

The IMD had issued a red alert for Raigad and Ratnagiri on May 23, warning of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall.

Pre-monsoon showers likely in Delhi 

As part of the pre-monsoon activity, Delhi is expected to see partly cloudy skies with chances of rain and thunderstorms on Saturday.

According to the IMD:

May 24: Thunderstorms and rainfall likely

May 25 and 26: Partly cloudy skies with possible thunder and lightning

May 27: Rain or thundershowers predicted

Kerala: Heavy rains trigger red alerts, fishing banned

Normal life was disrupted in several parts of Kerala on Friday as heavy rains lashed the state. The IMD issued a red alert in Thiruvananthapuram for three hours in the evening due to the likelihood of intense rain and surface winds reaching up to 50 kmph.

Earlier, the IMD announced that the monsoon is likely to hit Kerala within the next two days, with widespread rainfall expected throughout the week.

Coastal and inland regions are expected to experience strong winds. Fishing has been banned along the Kerala-Karnataka-Lakshadweep coasts from May 24 to 27.

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has forecast high waves up to 3.5 meters along the coast on Saturday.

Thunderstorms, gusty winds till May 27 in Andhra Pradesh

The IMD has predicted five consecutive days of thunderstorms in Andhra Pradesh from May 23 to 27, accompanied by lightning and gusty winds up to 60 kmph.

Thunderstorms are likely in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh (NCAP), Yanam, South Coastal Andhra Pradesh (SCAP), and Rayalaseema

Heavy rainfall is also expected in isolated areas of NCAP and Yanam on May 27.

“No major change in maximum temperatures is expected from Day 1 (May 23) to Day 7 (May 29) over Andhra Pradesh and Yanam,” the IMD said.

The state has already recorded ‘large excess’ rainfall between May 1 and 21, with an average of 88.5 mm, compared to the normal 39.2 mm.

Jharkhand braces for thunderstorms, strong winds

The IMD has forecast widespread thunderstorms, rainfall, and gusty winds across Jharkhand for the coming days, with below-normal maximum temperatures expected to continue until May 29.

The IMD has also forecast “cumulatively large excess rainfall” from May 30 to June 5.

“Thunderstorms with surface wind of 40-50 km per hour accompanied by rain are likely to occur at a few places over Chatra, Garhwa, Gumla, Hazaribag, Koderma, Latehar, Lohardaga, Palamu and Ranchi on Friday,” Anand added.

The met official siad, “An orange alert of thunderstorms and winds with maximum speed up to 60 kmph was issued for southern, central and north-east parts of the state.”

New Delhi, May 24: The Indian Air Force (IAF) and ground forces downed at least five Pakistani aircraft, including a Chinese JF-17 and two F-16 fighter jets, during Operation Sindoor, in-charge of the BJP’s National Information and Technology, Amit Malviya, said on Saturday.

The information related to the setbacks to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), shared by Malviya on his social media handle X, comes in the backdrop of intense politics over Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi seeking information about IAF’s aircraft losses and the BJP questioning him for not caring to inquiring about Pakistani losses during the conflict.

Hailing IAF’s precision strikes and air dominance during Operation Sindoor, Malviya listed the PAF aircraft casualties as: one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters on the ground and in the air.

A Pakistani SAAB-2000 airborne early warning system was destroyed as far as 315 kilometres away deep in Pakistan, said Malviya.

The Saab 2000 Erieye AEWC aircraft owned by Pakistan is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system.

Malviya quoted a media report which said that the IAF also has proof of its missiles having downed one C-130 J medium lift aircraft, a JF-17 and two F-16 fighters on the ground and in the air.

The BJP leader also commended the performance of the S-400 air defence system. “India’s S-400 air defence system in Adampur went into action no less than 11 times during Operation Sindoor,” he wrote.

Adampur Air Base is the one which Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited after the ceasefire ‘understanding’ with Pakistan.

Malviya also shared other details of the IAF strikes on May 10, pointing to Rafale-launched SCALP missiles and SU-30 MKI-launched Brahmos missiles taking out the northern air command-control network at Nur Khan airbase in Chaklala in the first strike itself.

Talking about the precision missiles that struck Pakistan four times, he wrote on X, “The last strike was carried out at Jacobabad and Bholari air bases, but by that time Pakistan had folded and was seeking US intervention for a ceasefire.”

Malviya’s claims about IAF success against the enemy also demolish claims made in fake news circulated on social media and attributed to a British newspaper. The posts carried an article with the headline “Pakistan Air Force: The Undisputed King of the Skies.”

Belagavi, May 24: A prominent Hindu seer has been arrested on charges of raping a 17-year-old girl in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, police said on Saturday.

The police have filed a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case against the accused.

A case in this regard was registered at the Bagalkot Women’s Police Station and subsequently transferred to the Mudalagi police station.

The accused is the head pontiff of a prominent mutt in a village in the Rayabagh taluk of Belagavi district.

According to police, the seer allegedly raped the girl repeatedly and threatened to kill her if she revealed the incident.

The accused seer had taken the girl to Raichur on May 13 and stayed there for two days.

Later, he took her to Bagalkot on May 15, staying there for another two days.

The accused seer took the girl with him, claiming to drop her back at her residence, and took advantage of the situation to commit the crime.

The seer left the victim at the Mahalingapura bus stop in Bagalkot district on May 17. Later, the girl revealed her ordeal to her parents, and a complaint was lodged against the seer at the Bagalkot Women’s Police Station.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the girl’s parents, who were devotees of the mutt and revered the accused seer, used to leave their daughter at the mutt often for weeks. The seer allegedly took advantage of this.

Police said there are allegations against the mutt and the seer of carrying out illegal activities.

It also came to light during the investigation that in 2021, the accused seer was beaten by villagers.

Local people have appealed to the police to initiate strict legal action against the accused seer.

The police have recorded the statements of the villagers and the victim.

The accused seer has been produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.