E-Paper
Heavy rains lash Pune for second consecutive day
Despite relatively weaker monsoon conditions, rainfall activities have picked up in Pune since Friday
Pune experienced pre-monsoon-like weather conditions on Sunday including thunderstorm cloud development towards the afternoon and evening hours, as torrential rains lashed parts of the city for a second consecutive day. As per the data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Wadgaonsheri reported over 111 mm of rainfall till 6:15 pm, followed by Lohegaon (48 mm till 8.30 pm).
Despite relatively weaker monsoon conditions, rainfall activities have picked up in Pune since Friday. As per the weather scientists, the current rainfall activities are mainly associated with local weather conditions that as cloud formation over Pune city.
For the last two days, there has been thunderstorm cloud development along with lightning and moderate spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 40-50 kph. Similar weather conditions are also being observed in districts including Nasik, Aurangabad, Hingoli, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, Sindhudurg, Dhule, Palghar, Osmanabad, Ratnagiri and Thane.
The weather pattern Pune has experienced for the last two days is not the monsoon rain pattern. Currently, the weather is hot and humid from morning to afternoon. From the afternoon onwards cloud formation starts over Pune city, it gradually develops from Cumulus to cumulonimbus clouds around evening hours and the areas from where the cloud eye passes receive more rainfall along with thunder and lightning activities.
While in a monsoon pattern, cloudy conditions can be experienced throughout the day with continuous rainfall, said Anupam Kashyapi, former head of the Weather and Forecasting division, IMD Pune.
On Saturday, Hadapsar recorded 126 mm of rainfall, followed by the Magarpatta area which received 63mm of rain.
Traffic Congestion and water logging in several areas:
As the city recorded moderate to heavy rainfall spells in various areas, waterlogging and traffic congestion were witnessed in several areas of the city. Sushil Pawar, a resident of the Lohegaon area said, “I was returning to my home in the evening. However, there was waterlogging and huge traffic jams in Yerawada. They generally don’t see many traffic jams on Sunday, however, the slow vehicle movement due to rains and waterlogging caused traffic congestion.”
Many roads in Kalyaninagar, Koregaon Park were waterlogged and manoeuvring through the traffic was a task for the commuters. A similar situation was also seen in the Wanowrie area as well.
The timber market near the Swargate area suffered heavy losses as water entered shops in the market area. Several videos went viral showcasing how residents and workers were struggling to shift their vehicles to safer places.
Vipul Gundesha, a timber market member said, “Due to the heavy rains, water entered many shops on Sunday. As many shops were closed, it was tricky to move the wood material to a safer place.
