After weeks of the scorching sun, Pune and other parts of Maharashtra can get some respite as rains and thundershowers are expected in the next few days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Monday that parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan were expected to witness thunderstorms and rains in the next few days.
Pune and other parts of Maharashtra have witnessed extremely high temperatures for the past one month or so. February was the hottest recorded in the history of the country, and the IMD has forecast heatwaves and an unusually hot summer for the next three months. This early onset of summer, the IMD reasons, is because of the lack of winter rains.
For the next three days, the IMD has forecast rain and thunderstorms in Marathwada, Madhya Maharashtra and over Konkan, Goa and Vidarbha. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are likely in Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada. The IMD has warned of lightning strikes in parts of Marathwda and Vidarbha.
The IMD has also warned of dust storms in some parts of Pune for the next 24 hours. It has issued a warning for thunderstorms with lightning at isolated places over Nagpur.
According to the IMD, light to moderate rainfall is very likely at isolated places over Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Yavatmal districts of Vidarbha, so is the possibility of hail at isolated places over Nagpur district.
At present, a western disturbance as a trough in middle tropospheric westerlies runs roughly along Long. 68°E to the north of the Lat. 15°N neighbourhood in lower levels. A trough runs from south Konkan to central Chhattisgarh is giving this respite.
