Maha to receive below normal rain this year: IMD
Within the state, Konkan, Vidarbha and some districts in southern Maharashtra are likely to receive below normal rainfall
PUNE: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Tuesday issued a ‘Long Range Forecast for the Southwest Monsoon Rainfall for 2023’ in which it predicted that Maharashtra will receive below normal rainfall between June and September this year.
Dr M Mohapatra, director-general of Meteorology, IMD, said, “Currently, La Nina conditions have changed to neutral over the equatorial Pacific region. The latest climate models forecast indicates that El Niño conditions are likely to develop during the monsoon season which may impact rainfall during the second half of the season. At present, neutral Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions are present over the Indian Ocean and the climate models forecast indicates that positive IOD conditions are likely to develop during the southwest monsoon season. Positive IOD is favourable for southwest monsoon rainfall over India and the country is likely to receive normal rainfall between June to September.”
Accordingly, some parts of central India, including Maharashtra, will likely receive below normal rainfall due to the impact of La Nina. Within the state, Konkan, Vidarbha and some districts in southern Maharashtra are likely to receive below normal rainfall. The remaining part is likely to receive rainfall, according to contemporary climatology. The rainfall probability for the state is with a model error of +/-5 per cent.
The department will issue the updated forecasts for the monsoon season rainfall in the last week of May 2023.
Temperatures rise in parts of Pune district, city
On Tuesday, temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius and above were recorded in eight areas of Pune district namely Lavale (40 degrees Celsius); Chinchwad (40.1 degrees Celsius); Rajgurunagar (40.2 degrees Celsius); Dudulgaon (40.3 degrees Celsius); Wadgaonsheri (40.6 degrees Celsius); Shirur (40.9 degrees Celsius); Dhamdhere (41.3 degrees Celsius); and Koregaon Park (42.1 degrees Celsius).
Many parts of Pune city too recorded a significant rise in temperature on Tuesday. At 42.1 degrees Celsius, Koregaon Park recorded the highest maximum temperature, followed by Shivajinagar (38.6 degrees Celsius) and Pashan (38.2 degrees Celsius).
While in the daytime, the mercury touched an all-time high record of the month till now, the city experienced rainfall accompanied by thunder and strong winds in the evening. Lightning was also observed in some areas of the city. This sudden change in temperature caused inconvenience to many citizens. There was rainfall in many areas of the city including Katraj, Shivane, Deccan, Sinhagad Road, Kothrud and Tilak Road area.
According to the IMD, the condition of the trough in easterlies, earlier running from Kerala to madhya Maharashtra across interior Karnataka, has extended up to south Maharashtra. The moisture incursion is also there which is responsible for the unseasonal rainfall in many parts of the state. For the next 48 hours, the city will continue to experience clear skies in the morning and the weather will be partly cloudy towards the afternoon and evening.
