Pune city records 35 per cent deficient rain in July

Nashik city, too, has recorded 87 mm so far this season.

In fact, Pune and Nashik districts in Madhya Maharashtra are on the brink of slipping into rainfall-deficient categories as half of the Southwest Monsoon season is over.

As on Thursday, rainfall recorded since June in Pune was surplus by only 1 per cent, whereas normal rainfall has been recorded over Nashik.

In comparison to Konkan, Marathwada and Vidarbha meteorological sub-divisions, this year’s rainfall over Madhya Maharashtra has been comparatively deficient. The other rain- deficient districts in Madhya Maharashtra, where July and August remain the rainiest months, include Nandurbar (-33 per cent), Satara (-27 per cent), Jalgaon (-12 per cent).

” The winds impinging on the windward side of Western Ghats did not follow a straight direction and weakened after crossing over the Western Ghats. As a result, below normal rainfall was recorded over some areas like Mahabaleshwar and areas lying to the immediate east of the ghats,” said J R Kulkarni, former scientist from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.

The rainfall activity over Maharashtra, however, is likely to pick up in the first week of August. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has suggested the likely formation of a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal. “Rainfall is set to increase in the coming days and we expect moderate rainfall over Pune and neighbouring areas till August 5,” stated the IMD forecast issued on Thursday.