Rainfall in March not due to climate change: IMD

Pune:

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) Pune, every year, the month of March witnesses sporadic spells of light rainfall with thunder activity. The pattern is recorded by IMD from 1901 to 2019.

The weather forecast agency maintained that the rainfall in March is not down to climate change, but has been a regular occurrence.

In March 2023, the city received light rainfall with thunder activity on March 6, which resulted in waterlogging cases at a few junctions.

On March 16 too, light rainfall was reported in most parts of Pune. However, it became very dark during the afternoon and for the past week, the weather patterns have been partly cloudy.

In the wee hours of March 17, the city witnessed heavy rainfall with thundery activity. Till Sunday, the current seasonal Rainfall is recorded at 9.3 mm.

“Pune has a history of light rains in march too. It is normal to have 1-2 thunderstorms around the area in March. However, no rain is expected from March 19,” said Vineet Kumar, a former research scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).

“On average. the country receives 28.33 mm of rain in March. This year so far, the national average is 6.4 mm, which is 60% below normal. Thus, the weather in India is deemed normal & nothing to do with climate change,” added Kumar.

According to IMD, even Saturday, the cloud cell developed over Pune city. The IMD alert stated, “Thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and very light to light rain with short moderate to intense spells of rain isolated strong, gusty winds reaching around 30-40 kmph very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Satara, Pune during next 3-4 hours. Take precautions while moving out. The satellite image showed cloud development over the Pune area.

However, despite the warning, the city did not record any rainfall activity, the IMD Pune confirmed on Sunday.

The maximum temperature in the city on Sunday was 31.8 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was 15.0 degrees Celsius. Mahableshwar had the lowest temperature in the state at 12.4 degrees Celsius, while Bramhapuri in Vidarbha had the highest at 34.0 degrees Celsius.

In the state, the maximum temperature in central Maharashtra remained in the range of 31 and 33 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature remained between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in the Marathwada region was recorded ranging from 31 and 32 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature remained between 12 and 18 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature in Vidarbha remained between 29 and 34 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature remained between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius.