Intense spells of rain for Pune till Thursday: India Meteorological Department

PUNE: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast intense spells of rain, similar to the one on Sunday, for another 3-4 days in the city, reports Neha Madaan. The spells are likely to be mostly moderate in the city (15.5mm to 64.4mm in 24 hours), heavy in the ghat areas (up to 115.4mm) and very heavy in isolated places (up to 204.4mm). Meanwhile, on Sunday, the highest rainfall was recorded at Magarpatta (100.5mm) in just a few hours.
The Met department has forecast intense rain spells, similar to the one on September 11, for another three-four days in the city.
Anupam Kashyapi, head of the weather forecasting division, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune, told TOI that people should take utmost precautions, as the roads may be slippery, even muddy in and around the city due to the moderately intense spells with mostly moderate rain ( 15.5 mm to 64.4 mm of rain in 24 hours). The adjacent ghat areas of the city and the district are very likely to receive heavy rain (64.5 mm to 115.4 mm in 24 hours) to isolated very heavy rain (115.5 mm to 204.4 mm rain in 24 hours) till Thursday.
"Roadside trees can get uprooted due to the loose wet soil. Momentary strong gusty winds may cause branches to fall. We have advised people to not be in open spaces or take shelter under trees at the time of thunder and lightning. The low lying areas have a serious threat of waterlogging, temporary floods and inundation in the coming three-four days. There are chances of landslides in the adjacent hill regions. People should avoid visiting the ghats, as an 'orange' alert has been issued for the next couple of days," he said.
Huge amounts of moisture are being transported over parts of Maharashtra, including Pune, from the strong westerly winds coming from the Arabian Sea as well as the winds blowing from the Bay of Bengal. "Various systems are contributing to the moisture incursion. A depression over south Chhattisgarh and the adjoining southeast Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha moved nearly northwestwards and weakened into a well-marked low pressure area on Monday over the southeast Madhya Pradesh and neighbourhood. It is likely to move nearly northwestwards across Madhya Pradesh during the next 48 hours," Kashyapi said.
Day temperatures on Monday were nearly 30+° Celsius in some locations in Pune, including Shivajinagar and Magarpatta. Satellite images on Monday evening showed thick cloud cover increasing over Pune district and close to the city, Kashyapi said.
IMD data revealed that on Sunday, the highest rainfall amount was recorded in Magarpatta at 100.5mm in just a few hours, while Pashan recorded 74mm of rain, Lohegaon 66.4mm, Shivajinagar 38.7mm and Chinchwad 9.5mm.