Red alert issued for India's Mumbai as city braces for another day of heavy rain

Heavy rain continued to batter the Indian city of Mumbai on Tuesday, with the country's weather bureau issuing a red alert for the second day in a row.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast intense spells of rain accompanied by gusty winds across several parts. 

It added that Mumbai recorded 550mm of rain in 81 hours, just 10mm short of the monthly average for August.

Schools and colleges will remain closed as a precautionary measure, the city's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced on Tuesday. 

All government and semi-government offices will also remain closed, with private firms being urged to allow employees to work from home.

Waterlogging and heavy rain have impacted train and flight services, with Flightradar reporting that 155 outbound and 102 inbound flights at Mumbai Airport were delayed on Tuesday. The Central Railway trains have reported delays of 20-30 minutes.

IndiGo airline advised passengers flying to Mumbai to expect delays due to "operational challenges" due to the extreme weather conditions. 

Indian army has been deployed in Maharashtra's Nanded district, after more than 200 villagers were left stranded by incessant rains on Monday.

Five people have been reported missing from Mukhed taluka of Nanded district, around 600 km from Mumbai, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

Over the last two weeks, torrential rain has killed dozens of people and deluged villages in India's Himalaya mountains.