Monsoon Rains Slam Kerala, Karnataka, and Northeast India: Red Alerts Out as Flood Risk Surges

Monsoon Rains Slam Kerala, Karnataka, and Northeast India: Red Alerts Out as Flood Risk Surges May, 30 2025

Monsoon Mayhem: Red Alerts and Rising Flood Threats Across South and Northeast India

The Indian monsoon season isn’t pulling any punches this year. As rain clouds burst across large sections of the country, the monsoon is now making headlines for all the wrong reasons—flood warnings, citywide disruptions, and stubborn weather systems putting millions at risk.

Kerala and Karnataka are at the top of the danger list, with the India Meteorological Department rolling out red alerts for many of their districts. In Kerala, places like Kozhikode and coastal stretches are staring down a 96% chance of ongoing heavy rain. These aren’t your average showers—meteorologists warn of extremely heavy falls, potentially topping 30 centimeters in less than 24 hours, especially in the ghat regions where landslides are a constant worry.

Karnataka tells a similar story. The coastal and hilly districts, including Udupi, Chikmagalur, Shimoga, Kodagu, and Dakshin Kannada, are under red warnings for pounding rain and winds gusting up to 50 kilometers per hour. Authorities have urged residents to stay indoors if possible, as sudden flooding and blocked roads remain real threats.

  • Kerala: Widespread rains and potential landslides—escape routes and relief centers are being prepped.
  • Karnataka: Schools closing in several districts as precaution, uprooted trees and waterlogged streets increasingly common.
Northeast India & the Monsoon’s Stubborn Stagnation

Northeast India & the Monsoon’s Stubborn Stagnation

The northeast isn’t catching a break either. A weather depression rolling out of Bangladesh has unleashed torrents on Meghalaya, where the IMD expects isolated areas to smash records with over 30 cm of rainfall in just a day. Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and the bordering reaches of sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim are in for “very heavy” showers, making river flooding a near-certainty in vulnerable districts.

It’s not just the rain. Thunderstorms and strong winds are battering the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Theni, and Tenkasi in Tamil Nadu, flagged with orange alerts. In Northwest India, the story flips: a Western Disturbance has dragged down temperatures by as much as 3°C, swapping hot spells for gusty winds and rain in Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. The wind isn’t just a footnote—it’s powerful enough to disrupt flights and daily commutes, as residents in Himachal Pradesh are finding out amid power cuts and overflowing mountain streams.

All this chaos comes with a stubborn twist. The northern limit of the Southwest Monsoon—the invisible line where the rains stop advancing—hasn’t budged. Still hovering from Mumbai to just beyond the 17-degree latitude, it’s refusing to move north thanks to unfriendly winds, leaving states above the line dry and others inundated. This stalled advance can be a double whammy: extended downpours flood some regions while drought anxieties rise just a few hundred kilometers away.

Emergency crews across the affected states are on high alert. Drainage pumps are running overtime in urban flashpoints like Kochi, Mangalore, and Guwahati. In rural pockets, farmers scramble to shield paddy nurseries or rescue livestock from rising waters. The start of monsoon 2024 is already proving it’s a season not to take lightly.