Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall can take place in parts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra over two to three days, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday.

The weather department classifies 64.5 mm to 115.5 mm rainfall in one day as heavy, 115.6 mm to 204.4 mm as very heavy rainfall and more than 204.4 mm as extremely heavy rainfall.

The department said that a depression over northwest Madhya Pradesh and eastern Rajasthan has intensified into a deep depression, which will lead to the heavy rainfall.

A depression is a low-pressure system that can cause cloudy, rainy and windy weather.

“It [the depression] is likely to move WSW [west-southwest] and reach Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining areas of Pakistan and NE [northeastern] Arabian Sea by morning of August 29th,” the department added.

On Sunday, a red alert was issued for Maharashtra’s Palghar, Raigad, Pune, Ratnagiri, Satara and Nandurbar districts as the meteorological department projected heavy to very heavy spells of rain in the next 24 hours.

A red alert is issued when rainfall of more than 204.5 mm in one day is expected.

“The present weather conditions over several parts of Maharashtra is favouring heavy rain conditions for which moderate to heavy spell of rains will continue till 8.30 am on August 26,” Sunil Kamble, the Mumbai director of the India Meteorological Department, told The Indian Express on Sunday. “After that, the intensity is likely to increase.”

On Sunday, the weather department also reported that another low-pressure area was situated over Bangladesh and adjacent Gangetic West Bengal. This is expected to intensify and move toward Gangetic West Bengal, northern Odisha and Jharkhand over the next two days.

The department issued a red alert, forecasting heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in western Madhya Pradesh on August 26. Similar conditions are expected in eastern and southern Rajasthan, Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch from August 26 to August 29, PTI reported.

Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is predicted over the next two days in the Konkan region, Goa, central Maharashtra, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand.

Squally winds with speeds of 55-65 km per hour, gusting up to 75 km per hour, are expected along the coasts of Gujarat over the northeast and adjacent east-central Arabian Sea on August 29, the weather department said.

It advised the fisherfolk to avoid venturing into the Arabian Sea’s northern and north-eastern parts, along the coasts of Gujarat and Maharashtra, until August 30.

Fisherfolk have also been advised to avoid venturing into the North Bay of Bengal and along and off the coasts of North Odisha, West Bengal and Bangladesh on August 25 and August 26.