A BMW 5 series car held on a submerged road near Vibgyor School at NIBM annex during the heavy rains that lashed the city on Monday evening. (Express photograph by Arul Horizon)Pune city recorded 104.5 mm rain in the 12 hours between 8.30 pm Monday and 8.30 am Tuesday. This was the third wettest October day since 2011, the rainfall data maintained by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The highest 24-hour rainfall recorded in October in the past decade was in 2020 (112.1 mm) and 2011 (105.1 mm).
This October, Pune city recorded 263.9 mm rain (till October 18) against a normal of 60 mm. (Express Photo by Arul Horizon) Severe thunder, lightning and strong winds accompanied the intense rain spells which lashed most parts of the city during the night. Though cloudy sky conditions prevailed all through Monday, rainfall activity enhanced after 9 pm over central Pune areas. Between 9.30 pm and 11.30 pm, Shivajinagar recorded 81 mm of rain and by 11.30 pm, it increased to 104.5 mm.
With this short but heavy rain spell recorded in under 12 hours, the city’s rainfall surplus jumped from 170 per cent on Monday to 339 per cent on Tuesday. This October, Pune city recorded 263.9 mm rain (till October 18) against a normal of 60 mm.
Heavy rain lashes Pune overnight; third wettest October day since 2011 says IMD #punerains pic.twitter.com/Wkkf2VCNpV
— Express PUNE (@ExpressPune) October 18, 2022
IMD officials said Pune city and neighbourhood areas had briefly come under the influence of moist winds coming in both from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. On Tuesday, the relative humidity ranged between 70 and 98 per cent, which is normally experienced in July and August during the peak Southwest monsoon season over Maharashtra.
“As a result, the cumulonimbus cloud cells that hovered over Pune gained strength. Areas of Maharashtra also came under the influence of upper air cyclonic circulation located off Kerala coast,” said Anupam Kashyapi, weather forecasting division head, IMD, Pune.
Rainfall activity over Pune will continue till October 22. (Express Photo by Arul Horizon) The Met department has forecast rainfall over Pune city and neighbouring areas in the afternoon.
“There continues to remain moisture over Maharashtra. Due to solar heating during the day, the temperature will rise but post afternoon hours, there can be partly cloudy sky conditions and one or two intense rainfall is likely,” added Kashyapi.
Rainfall activity over Pune will continue till October 22 with cloudy sky conditions likely to dominate the weather during these days.