How climate change is playing out in Pune: Fewer rainy days, heavier rainfall

Medha Kole , head weather forecasting Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said this trend was in line with predictions about the manner in which climate change was supposed to play out as per scientific studies across the world.

Climate scientists across the world have explained how climate change will play out in the days to come. One, they had said, will be increased extreme weather events like intense rainfall and cloudbursts. (Express Photo by Pavan Khengre)

As of Thursday, July 11, Pune city has received 284.4 mm of rainfall as compared with 224 mm it is estimated to receive – an excess of almost 30 per cent. However, the twist in the tale is that Pune has reported only 12 rainy days, whereby the figures translate into extreme heavy rainfall in a short duration.

Medha Kole , head weather forecasting Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said this trend was in line with predictions about the manner in which climate change was supposed to play out as per scientific studies across the world.

IMD registers a ‘rainy day’ when a station receives more than 2.5 mm rain. Thus, Pune city has received 284.9 mm of rain in just 12 days since June 1, the day monsoon began. Officially, monsoon starts June 1 and continues till end of September.

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IMD data showed, that between June 1 and July 11, Pune recieved nearly half the rainfall, that is 117.1 mm, on June 9. On June 5, IMD reported 68.3 mm rain making it the second wettest day for the city this season. The other days, data shows, did not report significant rainfall. “What this means is that extreme weather events have become more common than they were in the past,” she said.

Climate scientists across the world, have explained how climate change will play out in the days to come. One, they had said, will be increased extreme weather events like intense rainfall and cloudbursts. Monsoon this year shows that extreme weather events have become more pronounced.

IMD scientists say predicting such events present their own difficulty. “Precise or pin pointing areas where such rainfall will occur in a short time is difficult. IMD issues NOWCASTS, which are warnings for extreme events, but to pin point where rain would fal is difficult,” a scientist said. For example, despite extreme rainfall in Chinchwad or Shivajinagar, other parts of the city stayed relatively dry.

Kole said the forecast for July is high probability of excess rainfall.

Parthasarathi Biswas

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More

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