Lack of rain pushes city’s seasonal rainfall to 9 per cent below normal

Normally, the city receives its maximum quota of rainfall during the monsoon in July and August. These months are also crucial for kharif sowing. The city’s normal rainfall for July is 306.9 mm.

Pune district, however, has recorded 19 per cent surplus rainfall this season. But the district, too, has not experienced much rainfall in over 10 days. Except Lonavala, there has not been rainfall recorded anywhere in the district in July.

“The Southwest monsoon has been subdued over Maharashtra since June 20 and the present stream of westerly winds are not strong enough to bring rainfall across the Western Ghat, where Pune is located,” said an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune.

With no signs of favourable weather systems developing till July 10, the city is unlikely to enjoy any rainy spells soon.

Dry days have led to an increase in day temperatures in the city. On Sunday, the maximum temperature stood at 33.5 degrees Celsius, which was 4.5 degrees above normal.

– Stay updated with the latest Pune news. Follow Express Pune on Twitter here and on Facebook here. You can also join our Express Pune Telegram channel here.

“The temperatures will remain on the higher side this week, and settle close to 33 to 34 degrees Celsius,” said Anupam Kashyapi, head of the weather forecasting division, IMD, Pune.

Lack of rain and such high temperatures may not favour the soil and field preparations as many areas in the district are yet to undertake kharif sowing, agriculture meteorologists said.

There has also been an increase in the relative humidity levels recorded in the city, due to partially cloudy sky conditions prevailing intermittently. Humidity levels during the past weekend touched 80 per cent, adding to the overall heat-related discomfort over the city.

Rainfall over catchment areas of Pune has been better in comparison to city limits. Till Monday, the catchments of five major dams supplying drinking water to Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad had recorded rainfall between 209 and 569 mm and dam reserves are between 25 to 37 per cent of their total capacity.