Why has Pune suddenly become colder? Will monsoon be affected by Cyclone Remal?

Pune’s maximum temperature over the last 48 hours has hovered around 30-31 degrees Celsius. A weather expert answers whether this relief from heat will last or not.

The cyclone made landfall on Monday and had little impact on Maharashtra, but the noticeable decrease in temperature can be attributed to it, he said. (PTI Photo)

Cloudy skies and a sudden drop in the maximum temperature have brought much-needed relief for Pune residents. Instead of the usual 38-41 degrees Celsius recorded daily, Pune’s maximum temperature over the last 48 hours has hovered around 30-31 degrees Celsius. The bigger question is how long this relief will last, as the days before the arrival of the monsoon are normally marked by higher-than-normal temperatures.

Anupam Kashyapi, the former head of weather forecasting at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said that the drop in temperature was mostly due to the influx of moisture from the Arabian Sea. This was a result of the Cyclone Remal, which caused several deaths and massive destruction in West Bengal. The cyclone made landfall on Monday and had little impact on Maharashtra, but the noticeable decrease in temperature can be attributed to it, he said.

Kashyapi, however, said the relief from the heat might not last long due to the establishment of a westerly wind pattern caused by Cyclone Remal, leading to moisture depletion in Maharashtra and southern Gujarat. He also said that a sharp rise in daytime temperatures is likely over west-central India, with Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and southern Madhya Pradesh expected to experience an increase in temperature.

The big question on everyone’s mind is how Cyclone Remal will affect the arrival of the southwest monsoon. The IMD had predicted that the monsoon would arrive over Kerala on May 31. Typically, the monsoon reaches Maharashtra within the first week of June. Kashyapi said that due to the decrease in moisture over the Bay of Bengal, the onset of monsoon over Northeastern states such as Assam, Meghalaya, and Mizoram might be delayed by a day or two.

“This branch of the monsoon may proceed on time, but further progress may like to be hampered,” he said. Moisture depletion over the Arabian Sea branch of the monsoon has not been significant, which would result in normal onset of the monsoon over Kerala and other parts of the country, he added.

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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