It is monsoon season and rains have already started playing havoc bringing in floods and creating terror in a lot of places. On the other hand some of us are still waiting for a good spell of rain.  India is witnessing floods once again in many regions and alerts are being declared by the weather department. We see news; media and social platforms flooding with alerts…Red alert declared over such and such region, Yellow alert has been declared for this particular state, Orange alert in such…etc.etc.

But what are these alerts and what do they stand for? Why are these alerts declared? Let us take a look at some of these major alerts issued by IMD and what each means!!

RED ALERT

The colour red itself shouts danger when it comes to alerts. When any area is under red-alert, it means that heavy losses-life, property etc.-are very much possible. The Indian Meteorological Department declares Red Alert during monsoons when the cyclone is of high intensity and heavy rains are a huge possibility and the speed of the wind speed crosses 130 kmph.

YELLOW ALERT

Yellow Alert is issued before heavy rain or storm, flood or any other natural disaster or calamity. When there is a possibility of 7.5 mm to 15 mm rain and the rain is likely to continue for long and bring in floods, yellow alert is issued as a warning for safety of the masses.

ORANGE ALERT

When a cyclone is expected and the weather is likely to turn extremely disastrous, an Orange Alert is issued. The speed of the wind can range anywhere between 65 to 75 kmph. It is also quite probable that rainfall would measure around 15 to 30-33 mm.

Apart from these alerts, IMD also issues BLUE ALERT when there is a probability of thunderstorms and rain, both.