Red alert for three districts in Kerala on October 22

Heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning that had been pounding various parts of the State for the past few days is all set to intensify further with a fresh low-pressure area forming over the Bay of Bengal. According to a weather bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a low-pressure area was formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal, and it became well-marked over the same region on Tuesday.

The system is likely to strengthen further, intensifying into a depression over the southwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal off the north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coasts by Wednesday. Thereafter, it is likely to continue to move towards the north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts and intensify further during the subsequent 24 hours.

Holiday declared

Under the influence of the system, the thunderstorm activity will be enhanced, with extreme heavy rainfall anticipated in some parts of the State on Wednesday. A “red alert” has also been issued for Idukki, Palakkad and Malappuram districts on Wednesday, where extreme heavy rainfall is likely. The district administrations have declared a holiday for the educational institutions in these districts on Wednesday (October 22, 2025) in the wake of the extreme heavy rainfall forecast.

Districts like Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Wayanad have been put on an “orange alert,” where very heavy rainfall is likely, while the remaining districts will be on “yellow alert” on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the weather system over the Arabian Sea is moving away from the coast of Kerala, although the system has been intensifying over the past 24 hours. 

During the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram recorded the highest amount of rainfall with 11 cm, followed by Quilandi in Kozhikode (9 cm), Piravam in Ernakulam, Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, Thattathumala in Thiruvananthapuram and Kunnamangalam in Kozhikode with 7 cm each.