Pune and its surrounding areas are expected to receive another spell of rain and thunderstorms from Monday. Marathwada and Vidarbha regions will also experience similar weather conditions, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. Earlier this week, Pune and other regions of the state had received some relief from the scorching heat after a spell of rain and thunderstorm. These rains were mainly due to western disturbances (moisture-laden winds from the Mediterranean Sea) in central India and Konkan region. While the rainfall was not very heavy, it gave relief from the stifling heat. The IMD, in its forecast, said Pune and its neighbouring regions may get rains, thunderstorms and lightening between March 15 and 18. “The reason for the rain was likely the interaction of mid and upper tropospheric westerly trough with lower-level easterly winds over central-western parts of peninsular India. very light to light rainfall is likely over south India, east Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand from March 15 to 17,” said a senior scientist from the IMD. Earlier this week, rain in the state had damaged nearly 13,000 hectares of crop. Opposition parties have urged the government to provide farmers compensation for crop damage.
