The red alert issued for Chennai over the possibility of extremely heavy rain has been withdrawn, but the warning for heavy rain remains in force, according to a report by Dinamalar citing the weather department.
The alert for rainfall exceeding 20 centimetres was issued on Sunday afternoon after heavy to very heavy rain affected several parts of Chennai during the previous day. The weather department had said an atmospheric circulation responsible for the rain was continuing and could bring another spell of extremely heavy rain to the city.
The red alert was withdrawn in the evening after the atmospheric circulation shifted, the report said. The weather department nevertheless stated that the warning for heavy rain would continue, indicating that rainfall conditions remained significant even after the highest-level alert was removed.
The change in alert status came after Chennai experienced sudden extremely heavy rain, followed by heavy and very heavy showers in different areas. The report did not provide area-wise rainfall totals, details of waterlogging or information on disruptions to transport and civic services.
Dinamalar also reported that some weather forecasting platforms, including the BBC’s weather service, had not issued a similar alert at the time the red alert was announced by the weather department. The difference highlights that weather alerts can vary across forecasting platforms because they may use different models, thresholds and update cycles. The report does not provide a technical explanation for the variation.
For residents, the immediate change is that the red alert for extremely heavy rain has been withdrawn, while the heavy-rain warning remains active. The distinction is important because the withdrawal of a red alert does not mean that all rain-related risks have ended. Local conditions can continue to change as the atmospheric system moves, and the weather department’s continuing warning remains the latest guidance cited in the report.
The department’s next update will determine whether the heavy-rain warning is extended, reduced or withdrawn. Until then, Chennai remains under a continuing heavy-rain alert rather than the red alert issued earlier in the day.
