Chennai weather today: Schools and colleges in Chennai and several districts of Tamil Nadu are closed today, Wednesday, December 3, amidst relentless rain and waterlogging brought about by the remnants of Cyclone Ditwah. The intense weather system has weakened into a deep depression that is now sweeping closer to the coast, prompting the India Meteorological Department to raise an Orange Alert over the coasts.
Schools And Colleges Shut Across Key Districts
Following this, Chennai District Collector Rashmi Siddharth Zagade announced officially the closure order for all schools and colleges in Chennai District. The official order was compelled by continuous overnight rain and heavy waterlogging in low-lying areas, risking the safety of students and staff.
Beyond Chennai, several other districts across the state announced the following closures of educational institutions:
- Tiruvallur
- Chengalpattu
- Kancheepuram
Besides these, holidays for festivals like Karthigai Deepam and St. Xavier Church Kottar Festival are the reasons behind closures of schools and colleges in districts like Tiruvannamalai and Kanyakumari respectively.
Orange Alert Issued For The Coasts
The system, a remnant of Cyclone Ditwah, now lies over the southwest Bay of Bengal. The IMD has issued an Orange Alert for Chennai and most of coastal Tamil Nadu, where continuous heavy to extremely heavy spells, gusty winds of 40–60 km/h, and increased waterlogging in the coastal areas are expected.
The alert is also active for districts along the coastal Andhra Pradesh line, such as Nellore, Prakasam, and Bapatla, while Tirupathi and most of Andhra Pradesh remain under a Yellow Alert.
Latest IMD Update On Depression Movement
In its bulletin issued in the early morning on Wednesday, the IMD said that the depression over the area had moved slowly south-southwestwards and lay centered at about 100 km south of Chennai at 11:30 pm Tuesday.
The minimum distance of the center of depression from the North Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts was about 25 km. IMD forecast the weather system is "very likely to move slowly southwestwards towards the north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts and weaken into a Well-marked low-pressure area during next six hours," thus providing some relief to the afflicted regions.
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