Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala will continue to receive very heavy to extremely heavy rain till August 3, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The Met department issued an orange alert in Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod on Wednesday. Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Idukki, Thrissur, Ernakulam, and Palakkad are under yellow alert. An orange alert indicates very heavy rainfall ranging from 115.6 mm to 204.4 mm within 24 hours, whereas a yellow alert means heavy rainfall ranging from 64.5 to 115.5 mm.

Yellow alert in districts:
Aug 1 - Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Wayanad, Kasaragod
Aug 2 - Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, Kasaragod

Holidays for schools in 12 districts
Educational institutions in 12 districts, except for Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, will remain closed on July 31 (Wednesday) due to heavy rain. The MG University, Kottayam, and the Kerala University, Thiruvananthapuram, have postponed all the exams that were scheduled for Wednesday. All the PSC exams scheduled till Friday were also postponed.

According to the IMD forecast, moderate rain and gusty wind speeds reaching 30 kmph are likely at a few places in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod. Light rain is also expected in a few places in all other districts of Kerala.

The alert further says squally weather with wind speeds ranging from 35 kmph to 45 kmph, gusting to 55 kmph, is likely to prevail over North Kerala till July 31. IMD has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea off the Kerala-Karnataka-Lakshadweep coasts.

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has indicated that the sea is likely to become more turbulent, with high waves of 2.1 to 2.7 metres expected along the Kerala coast until 11.30 pm on Wednesday. A high wave alert has also been issued for the coasts of Lakshadweep, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.