Pune: Many parts of the state, including Pune, which witnessed subdued rainfall over the past week, are likely to experience similar weather conditions this week.According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), light to very light rain is expected in Pune and surrounding areas. The Met department has issued a yellow alert for ghat areas in select districts of western Maharashtra, where heavy rainfall is expected.IMD’s weather update for Maharashtra for Aug 16–22 forecasts fairly widespread to widespread rainfall across Konkan and Goa throughout the period, with isolated heavy rainfall expected on Aug 17. Farmers have been advised to ensure proper drainage in fields growing paddy, vegetables and fruit crops to prevent waterlogging.Madhya Maharashtra is expected to receive light, isolated to scattered rainfall overall, although isolated heavy spells are likely between Aug 16 and 18. Vidarbha is expected to receive fairly widespread showers between Aug 16 and 18 before rainfall activity tapers off, with isolated thunderstorms and lightning likely on Aug 17.Rainfall activity across Pune remained largely subdued on Sunday, with only light precipitation recorded at most locations. Kurvande recorded the highest rainfall at 19.5mm, followed by Girivan at 10mm and Malin at 5mm. Talegaon received 4.5mm, while Chinchwad and Lavale recorded 3mm each. Shivajinagar received 1.7mm, followed by Nimgiri and Dudulgaon at 1.5mm each, Pashan at 1.2mm and Shirur at 1mm. Hadapsar, Magarpatta and NDA recorded the lowest rainfall at 0.5mm each, reflecting an overall spell of light and scattered rain across the district.Meanwhile, the irrigation department has reduced water discharge from Khadakwasla dam due to poor rainfall activity in the catchment areas of the four dams that supply water to Pune — Khadakwasla, Temghar, Panshet and Varasgaon. “No major increase in rainfall activity is expected in the state during the week,” said a senior IMD official.Despite receiving only light rainfall in their catchment areas, the key dams supplying water to Pune maintained high storage levels. The reservoirs in the Khadakwasla cluster were collectively holding 29.15 TMC of usable water, with all four reservoirs at 100% capacity as of Aug 16.Within the core cluster, Temghar dam held 3.71 TMC of usable storage at 100% capacity after receiving 10mm of rainfall on Sunday. Panshet dam maintained 100% live storage at 10.65 TMC after recording 8mm of rainfall. Varasgaon dam, the largest reservoir in the system, was at 100% capacity with 12.82 TMC of water following 6mm of rainfall. Khadakwasla dam was also at 100% capacity, with 1.97 TMC of live storage after receiving 5mm of rain.Similarly, Bhama Askhed dam, a crucial water source for northern Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, held 7.61 TMC of usable water, representing 99.22% of its total live storage capacity. It received 1mm of rainfall on Sunday.Across the wider Bhima basin, major reservoirs continued to report near-full to full storage levels. Pavana dam, which supplies water to the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal area, held 8.51 TMC of usable water at 100% live capacity after receiving 10mm of rainfall. Mulshi dam was at 95.84% of its usable storage, with 19.31 TMC, after receiving 19mm of rainfall. Andra dam remained at 100% capacity, holding 2.92 TMC of usable water after receiving 3mm of rain.Downstream in Solapur district, Ujani dam held 53.57 TMC of usable water and was at 99.99% of its live storage capacity. No rainfall was recorded in the area on Sunday.
