A holiday has been declared in Kerala on Tuesday (July 25) for all schools and colleges as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted thunderstorms at most places in the south Indian state from July 23 to July 26.

India rain updates: Schools, colleges shut in four Kerala districts after thunderstorms alert

Monsoon arrives in pandemic-hit Mumbai; IMD issues orange alert for Pune

India's earth sciences ministry said today that "conditions are becoming more favorable for a good monsoon" in the country. Also Read: Rain in North India reduces possibility of heat wave for a week; low-pressure system in Arabian Sea "Monsoon rainfall between June to September over the country would be 102 per cent of its long period average which means 88 cm," the earth sciences ministry official Madhavan Nair Rajeevan said.

Kerala braces for monsoon amid COVID-19 pandemic