Heavy rain, landslides in Pune's ghat areas on Saturday: IMD

PUNE: Days after Cyclone Nisarga battered parts of the state, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of heavy to very heavy rain from June 12.
Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra are on an orange alert for June 13 when heavy rainfall could trigger landslides in the ghat areas, IMD officials told TOI on Wednesday.
This is also when the monsoon is set to enter Mumbai and Pune, the weather officials said.
The weather bureau has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places over Konkan-Goa and Madhya Maharashtra, and heavy rainfall at isolated places over Marathwada and Vidarbha on June 12-13 with moderate rainfall in Pune city. The lack of rain in interior Karnataka, Telangana and coastal Andhra Pradesh will bring the monsoon to Maharashtra on June 11-12, instead of the earlier expected date of June 10.
Anupam Kashyapi, head of weather, IMD, Pune told TOI that the monsoon’s onset conditions over south Konkan, in parts such as Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, are already favourable. But the adjoining parts of north interior Karnataka, Rayalseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh have not been getting much rainfall.
He added, “While declaring the monsoon’s onset over Maharashtra, we need spatial continuity. Unless north interior Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalseema get rain, it is difficult to declare the monsoon’s entry into South Konkan in Maharashtra.”
Kashyapi said rainfall in Maharashtra will start increasing from June 11, including Pune district and city.
“We have forecast heavy rain in isolated places in the ghat areas in Pune district on June 12 and heavy to very heavy rain in isolated places in the ghats in Pune district on June 13. Rainfall in Pune city is also likely to increase during this time,” he said.
The low pressure area over east-central and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal is likely to move west-northwestwards and become well marked during the next 48 hours.
“Under the influence of this low pressure area, fairly widespread to widespread rainfall accompanied by isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely over central India during June 11-13, including Maharashtra,” Kashyapi said.