E-Paper
Pune city on the verge of recording wettest July ever
PUNE: Pune is on the cusp of recording its wettest July in recorded history, with the city receiving 508
PUNE: Pune is on the cusp of recording its wettest July in recorded history, with the city receiving 508.2 mm of rainfall between July 1 and July 28 (till 8:30 pm), according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The city is just 0.3 mm short of the all-time July record of 508.5 mm, set in 1907, making it highly likely that the record will be surpassed before the month ends. The IMD has forecast continued rainfall till July 31. On Tuesday, Pune received 3.2 mm of rain during the 12 hours ending 8.30 pm.
“Based on the rainfall recorded till 8:30 pm on July 28, Pune has received 508.2 mm of rainfall during July, making it the second wettest July in the city’s recorded history. Although the city received additional rainfall later in the day, the updated rainfall compilation is yet to be completed and as of now, the all-time July record of 508.5 mm set in 1907 has not been officially surpassed,” said S D Sanap, scientist, IMD Pune.
The extraordinary rainfall marks one of the strongest July monsoon spells in recent decades, with repeated rain events throughout the month significantly boosting water storage in reservoirs and replenishing rivers and streams across the district.
Meteorologists attribute the sustained rainfall to a favourable combination of large-scale weather systems. According to the IMD, the monsoon trough continues to lie south of its normal position, while a deep depression over north interior Odisha and adjoining Gangetic West Bengal is moving west-northwestward across Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
The weather pattern is further being reinforced by upper-air cyclonic circulations over southwest Uttar Pradesh, northwest Madhya Pradesh, and northeast Assam, along with a western disturbance over north India. Together, these systems are enhancing moisture transport and keeping monsoon conditions active over central and western India, including Maharashtra.
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Mumbai, has forecast that active monsoon conditions will persist over the state for the next few days and has issued colour-coded weather warnings.
For Wednesday (July 29), Vidarbha has been placed under a red warning for isolated extremely heavy rainfall while adjoining districts remain under an orange alert. Most districts of Madhya Maharashtra, including Pune, continue to be under a yellow alert, indicating the possibility of heavy rainfall at isolated places.
On Thursday (July 30), orange alerts will remain in force for parts of Vidarbha, while most other regions of the state will continue under a yellow alert. Rainfall activity is expected to gradually ease thereafter, with warnings likely to reduce significantly by Friday and Saturday, except in isolated parts of the Konkan coast.
For Pune, the IMD has issued a yellow alert for both the city and the ghat areas over the next 24 hours. From July 30 onwards, rainfall activity is expected to intensify over the ghats, prompting an orange alert for July 30 and 31. No significant alert has been issued for Pune city beyond July 30.
Sanap said, “Under the influence of the prevailing synoptic systems, light to moderate rainfall with isolated heavy spells is likely over Pune during the next two to three days. Rainfall intensity may vary, but monsoon conditions are expected to remain active over the region”.
The IMD has cautioned that heavy rainfall could trigger localised flooding in low-lying areas, waterlogging, flash floods, disruption to road and rail traffic, landslides in vulnerable hilly regions, and damage to standing crops.
With the monsoon expected to remain active through the final days of July, Pune appears poised to rewrite its rainfall history even as authorities continue to monitor river levels, dam storage and flood-prone areas across the city.
