Maximum temperature of Pune and its surrounding region touched 40 degree Celsius on Wednesday for the first time this season. Dr Anupam Kashyapi, scientist F, head(weather forecasting division) and director(Admin) of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said this is the start of the summer trend but the upcoming days of rains is expected to cool the temperatures much.
On Wednesday,Pune recorded maximum temperature of 36.8 degree Celsius which was the highest for the month. However areas like Shirur, Rajgurunagar, Chinchwad, Khed saw temperatures cross 37 degrees Celsius. Shirur with 40.2 degrees Celsius was the station with the highest recorded temperature in the district. In Maharashtra Chandrapur had recorded the highest of 40.4 degree Celsius.
This rise, Kashyapi said was in commensurate with the advent of Summer. “Summer temperatures are supposed to high and this is the first time this season they have come this high,” he said. The high temperature which caused immense discomfort to Puneities however was to be temporary as the IMD has predicted rains with thunder and lighting from Thursday.
Pune, Dr Kashyapi said is expected to see a convective activity associated with wind discontinuity. This would be North South and would see incursion of moisture from Bay of Bengal. This would give rise to local instability and cause rains mostly in the afternoon. While the rains would not be much, what can be worrisome for Pune and other regions would be the strong winds and lighting. Strong winds, Kashyapi said can lead to branches of trees falling while lighting can be life threatening. Rains, thunder and lighting would start from Thursday and continue over the weekend.
Similar convective activities had seen unseasonal rains in March. As per information available on the IMD’s website India has received 48.1 mm of rainfall from March 1, to April 4,2023 as against the 34.2 mm it should normally receive. The country as a whole has received 41 per cent excess rainfall. Barring a few states in North East and North, India as a whole has received excess rains in March this year. Last year, the country as a whole has reported 8.9 mm of rainfall.
For Pune the unseasonal rains has led to dip in temperature between 2-3 degrees from the maximum temperature normally recorded. In the next few days, a similar drop in temperature would be recorded while chances of heat wave are extremely slim in Pune or Maharashtra.
