Maha records surplus rainfall till July, may witness deficit in August

In Pune district, cumulative rainfall is 4% higher than normal rainfall with the district having received 537.2 mm of rainfall thus far during the rainy season

PUNE: With the monsoon having entered its break phase, the state may experience a rainfall deficit in August. While normal rainfall in August is 32.10 mm, the state has so far received 18.40 mm rainfall between August 1 and 3. Likewise, all four meteorological sub-divisions of the state are experiencing rainfall deficit this month.

According to weather experts, the overall rainfall condition is ‘good’ due to the rain in July. (HT PHOTO)

Due to heavy to very heavy rainfall in the month of July, Maharashtra is now experiencing a 10% rainfall excess for the cumulative period between June 1 and August 3. There is a lull though in the monsoon since the first week of August, which is expected to continue till August 15. As a result, the state is experiencing a 43% rainfall deficit in August.

All four sub-divisions of the state namely Konkan and Goa, central Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha are seeing a rainfall deficit of 35 to 71%. However, for the cumulative period between June 1 and August 3, three out of the four sub-divisions (Konkan and Goa, Marathwada, and Vidarbha) have received excess rainfall between 4 and 29%. Whereas central Maharashtra has recorded a 5% rainfall deficit during the monsoon season till date.

In Pune district, cumulative rainfall is 4% higher than normal rainfall with the district having received 537.2 mm of rainfall thus far during the rainy season. For August however, the district is experiencing a 45% rainfall deficit with Pune having received 17.8 mm of rain till date against its normal rainfall of 32.7 mm.

According to weather experts, the overall rainfall condition is ‘good’ due to the rain in July. Although some districts in Marathwada and central Maharashtra are still facing a rainfall deficit, the condition is not as tense as was said earlier. There are chances of rainfall revival late August so rainfall conditions are expected to improve after August 20.

Meanwhile, rainfall activity is expected to reduce significantly across the state at least till August 15. Therefore, Pune district and Pune city, too, will experience less rainfall. For Pune, 2 to 4 mm rainfall is expected in the city area while the district may experience slightly higher rainfall, said Vineet Kumar, a former researcher from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).