Light rain in surrounding areas of Pune; mercury to soar further in city

PUNE: Some areas surrounding Pune received light rainfall over the weekend, though the city remained dry, according to data from the Met department.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) data showed that Talegaon recorded the highest rainfall at 13.5mm in the 24 hours until Monday morning, followed by Girivan (10.5mm), Nimgiri (7mm), Ballalwadi (4.5mm), Lavasa (3.5mm), and Kurvande (1.0mm).

"The rain brought much-needed relief after weeks of scorching heat. My garden was starting to wither, but these showers seemed to help a little," said Rajesh Patil, a 52-year-old resident of Talegaon.
"I heard temperatures will climb again. Last month, we had to use coolers throughout the day and night. I am worried about water scarcity if this heat continues," he added.
SD Sanap, scientist, IMD Pune, said, "Maharashtra is likely to experience hot air advection from northwest India, causing a further rise in day temperatures. Parts of northwest India will be under a heat wave alert in the coming days."
Sanap emphasised that the temperatures would not increase drastically in the coming days, but a modest rise of 1-2°C is expected.
"Lohegaon's daytime temperature could reach 42°C or slightly higher in the coming days, considering it already recorded 41.8°C on Monday. This was 4° above normal. Shivajinagar's maximum temperature on Monday was 39.2°C, so it could touch 40°C in the coming days," Sanap said.
The night temperature is also likely to increase by 1-2°C in the next few days, but won't meet IMD's criteria for "warm night conditions."
Abhijit Modak, an independent weather forecaster, told TOI, "Following the temperature decrease over the weekend in Konkan due to westerly winds and isolated thunderstorms around the Sahyadri ghats, temperatures are now set to rise again across Maharashtra this week. Typical temperatures in the 40s(°C) are expected for interior Konkan and the Deccan region, with a further increase as we move towards Marathwada and Vidarbha."
On Monday, the highest maximum temperature across Maharashtra was recorded at Akola at 43°C — 2.3°C above normal.
Several locations experienced temperatures above 40°C, including Lohegaon (41.8°C, +4°C departure), Jalgaon (41.5°C), Solapur (42.2°C), Beed (41.9°C), and Chandrapur and Washim (41.8°C).
In Pune, Shivajinagar recorded 39.2°C — 1.4°C above normal. The Konkan-Goa region experienced relatively lower daytime temperatures, with Colaba (Mumbai) at 34.2°C, but Santacruz recorded a scorching 36.8°C.
Minimum temperatures showed considerable variation across regions.
The lowest minimum temperature recorded on Monday was in Shivajinagar at 18.3°C — 1.4°C below normal.
Interestingly, the Vidarbha region, with high daytime temperatures, also recorded relatively warm nights, with Akola at 27.6°C (+3.3°C departure) and Buldhana at 26.8°C (+1.8°C departure).
Lohegaon, with a minimum temperature of 23.1°C and Malegaon, with 23.2°C, showed significant positive departures in minimum temperatures at +3.4°C and +3.5°C, respectively.