Pune gets triple-digit rainfall in 3 hours breaks 33-year record, more in store today

Pune faced severe waterlogging near the railway station and airport, with flights delayed at Lohegaon airport. An Air India Express flight had to be diverted to Mumbai due to heavy rain.

PUNE: The city recorded triple-digit rainfall in a matter of three hours on Saturday evening, with Shivajinagar (117.1mm) breaking its 33-year-old one-day rain record for June. The city had last received over 101mm rainfall in a period of 24 hours during the month over three decades ago — 123.3mm on June 8, 1991.

Lohegaon received 115.6mm of rain. Pune city (Shivajinagar) has already crossed its normal June rainfall quota with the recent showers, even before monsoon has arrived over the city, an IMD official said.

Normal rainfall in Shivajinagar in June is 183.9mm, while the city has so far received 209.2mm of rain. On Saturday, Shivajinagar received 64 percent of normal June rainfall quota at 117.1mm with the almost the entire month still left to spare.

So far this year, Pune has received 315.4mm which is 41.3% of its yearly rain quota, and the entire monsoon season is still left!

Weather experts have predicted more rain for Pune on June 9 from afternoon onwards, although the intensity of rain is expected to be less as compared to June 8. They are attributing these showers still as pre-monsoon rain as the monsoon onset is still not happened over Pune.

Saturday’s rainstorm caused massive traffic jams and severe waterlogging and left quite a few trees uprooted. Several low-lying areas were inundated with knee-deep waters, including the vicinity outside Pune railway station and the departure area of Lohegaon airport. Close to 20 flights since early afternoon hours were delayed at the Pune airport because of the heavy rain. An Air India Express flight from Bhubaneswar to Pune circled around the Pune airspace for a while before being diverted to Mumbai.

The fire brigade department of PMC had attended to over 30 calls from citizens related to tree falling incidents across the city by 8 pm. The men were still on the field attending some more calls to help citizens in need till late night.

Market Yard, Gultekdi, Pune railway station, Nal Stop, Sindh Society Aundh, Ganeshkhind Road, Deccan, Karve Road, Parvati areas received heavy rainfall and experienced severe waterlogging. A big tree fell on vehicles near Mars Society Kalyani Nagar.

Medha Khole, head of the weather forecasting division at India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune, said to media, “By Saturday evening, monsoon had arrived at the extreme southern regions of Pune district, with the northernmost limit of monsoon passing through Harnai and Baramati.”