Little below average overall, this monsoon best for Pune

PUNE: This monsoon was the best for the city since 2014 though its performance in the country was a tad below average.

The date of India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed Pune recorded over 715mm rainfall from June to September this year after deficient rainfall in 2015 and average rains in 2016. With the city's normal rainfall during the season being 566.3mm, it received almost 150mm surplus rainfall this time — the highest since 2014.

The city's monsoon rainfall in 2014 was around 700mm. In 2015, it was around 470mm and in 2016 it was close to 570mm.

Like Pune, other districts traditionally known for less rain, such as Ahmednagar and Nashik, also experienced excess rainfall this monsoon.

J R Kulkarni, retired scientist, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), told TOI that convection or rainfall activity this time was mostly concentrated over these districts, as well as Mumbai and Pune. "Normally, convection is concentrated over central India in regions like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha. This monsoon was a contrast in that sense. These regions received less rain, while Pune, Nashik and Ahmednagar received good rainfall. Also, the monsoon branch of the Arabian Sea was quite active this season, benefitting regions on the west coast like Mumbai and Pune, which are in the interiors of the state," said Kulkarni.

Though the rainfall in Pune in 2016 was normal, much of it was concentrated over central India, including Vidarbha. Year 2015 was a deficient monsoon year, when rainfall had been below normal by about 14% in India because of El Nino.

Not only did the city record excess rain in each month of this monsoon from June to September, of the 17 monsoon weeks from June 1 to September 27, as many as 10 closed with excess rainfall. Apart from the July 9-11 and September 5-7 periods, the city received rain almost every day this monsoon.