Uttarakhand red alert stirs school closure suspense, yellow-orange alerts in other states
A red alert for heavy rain in four Uttarakhand districts has left schools bracing for likely closure, as yellow and orange alerts cover several other states.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand after heavy rain on Sunday. Dehradun, Tehri, Haridwar and Pauri districts have been placed under the red alert, leaving parents wondering whether district magistrates will order immediate school closures.
In recent months, districts including Dehradun, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Champawat and Bageshwar have also seen red alerts issued for heavy rain, with school holiday circulars following within hours. Given the continuing rain, schools in all these districts are widely expected to remain closed on Monday, September 28.
Parents and students have been told that district magistrates' orders usually come late in the evening or early in the morning, so people in Dehradun, Tehri, Haridwar and Pauri should not assume schools will be open the next day. Everyone has been advised to keep an eye on their school groups and the news, since confirmed holiday information will come only through official government notices. Cold has also increased sharply in the state's upper reaches, with early reports of snowfall beginning in the higher areas of Pithoragarh, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi.
On the cause of the heavy rain, officials said a low pressure belt has formed over eastern Uttar Pradesh, along with another low pressure belt over northeastern Madhya Pradesh and northern Chhattisgarh, which together have caused the bad weather. Heavy to very heavy rain has been forecast for Uttarakhand and northern Uttar Pradesh until Sunday, with extremely heavy rain possible in some places. If the rain continues, schools could also close in some districts of western Uttar Pradesh, with the administration to decide based on conditions.
In Delhi-NCR, rain fell on Saturday evening and a slight chill was felt on Sunday morning. The IMD has forecast rain in Delhi for the next three days, but no school closures have been announced there so far.
Alerts have also been issued in other states. Jharkhand is under an orange alert on Sunday, while a yellow alert has been issued for central Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Marathwada, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. On Monday, a yellow alert will be in effect for Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Strong winds have also been forecast along the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh. All students and parents have been advised to watch for messages from their schools, as official holiday information will be issued by the schools themselves.
