The alert comes following days of heavy rainfall and waterlogging across the city and its neighbouring regions, causing disruption to civic life More rain may batter Mumbai today as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for the city, with showers expected over the next two hours. IMD issues an orange alert for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Raigad following heavy rains rains in the region (HT/ Bhushan Koyande)The warning however has been downgraded from the earlier red alert issued on Wednesday, indicating that Mumbai may finally get some temporary relief following relentless rains for days on end.“An Orange Warning has been issued for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Raigad, with moderate to intense spells of rain likely at isolated places over the next 3 hours. Residents are advised to take necessary precautions and stay alert,” IMD has said, according to news agency ANI.Monsoon strikes MumbaiA red alert was issued for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar disricts on Wednesday till noon, but was later extended till 7PM. Raigad and Ratnagiri were also later placed under red alert, while Sindhudurg, Pune, Satara, Kolhapur and Palghar remained under orange alert.Recording a total amount of 204mm rainfall in the next 24 hours, IMD then placed Mumbai and surrounding regions of Thane and Raigad under an orange alert till July 5 on Thursday.Also Read I ‘BJP wants to crush voice of Maharashtra through defections’: Aaditya Thackeray to HTSantacruz, which is the city’s base weather station, recorded 204.6mm rain, while Colaba received 158.2mm rain, as of Thursday according to IMD. Other areas that saw intense rainfall included Juhu (164.5 mm), Vikhroli (163 mm), Ram Mandir (157 mm), Bandra (141.5 mm) and Vidyavihar (132 mm). Sion recorded 115 mm, while Chembur received 99.5 mm, Colaba 99 mm and Byculla 97.5 mm during the same period.The highest rainfall was recorded in the eastern suburbs of Mulund (218mm) followed by S-ward office (212mm) and Powai (208mm). These regions have now been placed under an orange alert.This development is expected to provide temporary respite to city dwellers who have been facing issues in their daily commute due to waterlogging and safety hazards in multiple areas.Also Read I Two killed in rain-related mishaps in HimachalThe weather pattern had also increased traffic congestion in multiple pockets and caused a slight increase in the city's water level supply to go from 7.18% to 8.12% . This is still a huge cry from the 43.46% capacity seen in the water reservoir system at this time last year.Further advance of monsoonAs per IMD's official website, fairly widespread to widespread rainfall is likely to continue over the region till July 5. This may be followed by isolated heavy rainfall on July 6.“There is also an upper air cyclonic circulation over north Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood under whose influence a low pressure area is likely to form over northwest Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood around July 3,” said a weather official revealed, as previously reported by HT.“A trough also runs from the above upper air cyclonic circulation over north Bay of Bengal and neighborhood to Northeast Arabian Sea across south Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, north Maharashtra and Gujarat."Also Read I No water cuts during Palkhi processions; alternate-day water supply to be reviewedThe southwest monsoon has currently advanced into some more parts of Gujarat, remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, entire Delhi, most parts of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana & Punjab, and some parts of Rajasthan, as per IMD.Conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of North Arabian Sea, Gujarat, remaining parts of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana & Punjab, and some more parts of Rajasthan during next 2-3 days.Stuti Gupta is a Content Producer at Hindustan Times, based in New Delhi, where she is a part of the General News team, tasked with reporting on happenings across the country impacting domestic as well as international ecospheres. In her role at HT, she is responsible for keeping a track of incoming news updates, packaging stories and publishing them in a format best suited to their purpose. She holds a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Journalism from St Xavier’s, Mumbai and is partial towards working on international affairs. Apart from her interest in the geopolitical world, she is a keen reader, writer, orator, debater and learner who loves picking up new information. She has been recognized for her previous literary work at the international level with a Gold Finalist, Gold and Silver Award in various participating years at the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition along with winning the third prize and getting her story published in Children’s World in 2017. Barring academic and professional pursuits, she has a passion for travelling to new places, exploring new cultures and cuisines, documenting them through words and pictures and interacting with people from diverse backgrounds. She is also an avid enthusiast of studying art forms such as cinema, dance, theatre and music as a tool for cultural storytelling and actively participates in them.Read More