PUNE: The city and nearby ghat areas saw a sharp rise in rainfall activity on Tuesday, ending a 10-day stretch of mostly light showers. With the shift in weather, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has upgraded its city forecast from “very light to light rain” to “light to moderate rainfall,” with similar conditions expected to continue for the next two to three days.IMD scientist SD Sanap said Tuesday’s rainfall marked the first significant increase after a relatively subdued phase. “For the past several days, rainfall was largely confined to the very light to light category with only brief spells in between. Tuesday has seen a pickup in activity, and these conditions are likely to continue for around two more days. Moderate rainfall has a fairly wide range, and the city is receiving rain within that expected category,” he said.Chinchwad received the highest rainfall at 16mm between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Tuesday, followed by Pashan and Lohegaon at 14.8mm each, NDA (14.5mm), Dapodi (14mm) and Shivajinagar (12.9mm). Among other stations, Koregaon Park received 8mm, followed by Hadapsar (7.7mm) and Daund (6mm). In the district, Kurvande in the ghat region recorded 32mm of rainfall, while Bhor received 12.5mm and Malin 8.5mm during the same period.Sanap said the renewed rainfall activity was driven by a cyclonic circulation over the west-central Bay of Bengal and an associated trough across central India, along with stronger low-level monsoon winds. “A cyclonic circulation persists over the west-central Bay of Bengal at around 3km-5km altitude. An associated trough extends inland from this system, while strong monsoon flow in the lower levels of the atmosphere is also supporting rainfall. These features together are responsible for the increase in rainfall activity,” the IMD scientist said.The revival was more pronounced across the Western Ghats. During the 24 hours ending Tuesday morning, Bhira recorded 148mm rainfall, followed by Lonavla (off) at 135mm, Shirgaon and Tamhini at 120mm each, Ambone 116mm, Lonavala (Tata) 115mm, Koyna (Navja) 106mm and Dungerwadi 100mm. Several other ghat stations registered between 60mm and 95mm of rainfall, indicating a broader strengthening of the monsoon activity.IMD has issued red alert for Pune’s ghat areas on Wednesday, warning of heavy rainfall in the region. Pune city, meanwhile, is expected to continue receiving light to moderate rain over the next 48 hours. Sanap advised tourists and travellers to avoid visiting ghat sections over the next 48 to 72 hours due to the likelihood of heavy rainfall. He said rainfall activity across Pune city was expected to remain elevated for at least two more days before gradually easing.
