Monsoon arrives in Pune a fortnight ahead, IMD issues ‘orange’ alert

Monsoon arrived in Kerala on May 24, Saturday, the earliest onset seen in the state since 2009. A day later, Maharashtra witnessed advanced onset of the Southwest Monsoon, ten days before the usual date of June 5. This is also the earliest onset of monsoon that Mumbai has seen in 35 years. This time, the monsoon current has been exceptionally strong, covering several areas well in advance.

While Lonavala recorded 236 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, another Automatic Weather Station (AWS) in Kurvande reported 184.5 mm. Daund saw 114 mm of rainfall and Shivajinagar reported 23 mm, while Baramati recorded 53 mm during the period. In the last three days, Baramati received a total of 194.8 mm of rainfall, followed by Bhigwan in Indapur taluka which received 136.4 mm. The village of Sansar in Indapur has seen 194 mm of rainfall in the last three days.

Twenty-one revenue mandals in the district reported more than 65 mm of rainfall, while 14 villages in Baramati and Indapur went under water due to a breach in the Khadakwasla Left Canal. The Pune-Solapur highway was closed to traffic for an hour following inundation on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the IMD issued a ‘red’ alert for Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, and Ratnagiri districts on Monday afternoon. The alert will remain in place until Tuesday morning. As per the weather department, Mumbai and neighbouring districts will experience “extremely heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds at isolated places.”