The Tamil Nadu government has declared a holiday for schools in Chennai and surrounding districts on Thursday, December 12, due to heavy rains that began late on Wednesday night, December 11. 

Additionally, the District Collectors of Villupuram, Thanjavur, Mayiladuthurai, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul, Cuddalore, and Pudukkottai have also announced school closures in their respective areas, reported PTI.

In the Union Territory of Puducherry, both schools and colleges have been closed for the day due to the adverse weather conditions.

The heavy rainfall is linked to a well-marked low-pressure area currently located over the southwest Bay of Bengal, off the Sri Lankan coast. The system, accompanied by an upper-air cyclonic circulation extending up to mid-tropospheric levels, is expected to move west-northwestward towards the Tamil Nadu-Sri Lanka coast over the next 24 hours.

This movement is likely to bring heavy to very heavy rainfall to the region.

Several districts, including Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, Perambalur, Tiruchy, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Karur, Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Tenkasi, and Thoothukudi, have been placed under a yellow alert due to the forecasted rain.

On Wednesday, December 11, Chennai and neighbouring districts experienced moderate to heavy rainfall, which is expected to continue for the next 24 hours, PTI added.