June rain bounty for Maharashtra, mercury plummets by 10°C

PUNE: Even before the monsoon enters the state, the weather bureau’s data on rainfall shows that Cyclone Nisarga left Maharashtra with a June rain bounty.

The entire state’s rainfall in four days of June has been 52.9mm, five times more than the normal of 10.6mm.
Anupam Kashyapi, head of weather, IMD, Pune told TOI rain in early June benefits pre-sowing activities for kharif crops after soils have partially dried following the rabi harvests.
“The moisture will now help farmers across Maharashtra prepare their lands for sowing. Konkan is expected to get more rain spells in the next seven days, while south-central Madhya Maharashtra is expected to get rain at isolated places in the next five days. Pune district is also expected to get light rain over the next three to four days. Isolated places in Marathwada and Vidarbha are also expected to get rain till June 8.”
The biggest impact of the constant rain has been a perceptible drop in day temperatures across the state. Kashyapi said the day temperatures across various locations in the state dropped by an average of 10C. Till last week, the maximum temperatures were close to 40C.
“Locations like Shivajinagar, Lohegaon, Malegaon, Aurangabad, Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Chandrapur, Gondia and others on Thursday showed negative day temp departures to the tune of seven to 13C. Day temperature in Shivajinagar was 26.6C on Thursday, while the minimum temperature was a close 21.6C. At Lohegaon too, day temperature was as low as 26.7C, while its minimum temperature on Thursday was 22.3C,” Kashyapi said.
D S Pai, scientist and head of climate research and services, IMD, Pune told TOI that the amount of rain expected from the cyclone did not occur.
“Maharashtra was lucky that the rain due to the cyclone were initial June rains. A cyclone affecting a region once the monsoon has already begun can cause flooding. Accidents that occurred on Wednesday were mostly because of the strong, gusty winds. Also, the timely forecast and government evacuation efforts helped avert loss of lives from the impact of the cyclone,” he said.