The Southwest monsoon advanced over parts of Pune, Mumbai, and much of Maharashtra on Sunday, continuing its swift progress since its onset on May 30. This season’s monsoon arrived early in Mumbai and Pune, two days ahead of the usual date of June 11.

With this latest advancement, the Northern Limit of Monsoon now includes Thane, Ahmednagar, Beed, Nizamabad, Sukma, Malkangiri, Vizianagaram, and Islampur.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Konkan and Madhya Maharashtra have been experiencing widespread heavy rainfall in recent days. Following the monsoon’s arrival, a ‘red’ alert has been issued, predicting extremely heavy rainfall (over 204 mm in 24 hours) for coastal Karnataka, Konkan, and Madhya Maharashtra until Monday. Heavy rains are expected to persist in these areas throughout the week, with an ‘orange’ alert in effect until Tuesday.

Rainfall in Pune, return of heatwave in North India

Pune (Shivajinagar) recorded 117 mm of rainfall on Sunday, marking the third wettest June day since 1969. Thunderstorms and heavy downpours late Saturday caused significant flooding in Pune and large parts of Mumbai, submerging major roads and underpasses. According to IMD’s data, Pune’s Lohegaon and surrounding areas reported 1398 mm of rainfall over the past 24 hours.

The average rainfall in Pune (Shivajinagar) for June is 156.3 mm. Saturday’s heavy rains pushed the city past this monthly average, reaching a total of 209.1 mm by 8:30 am on Sunday, even before the official onset of the monsoon. The wettest June day in Pune since 1969 occurred in 1991, with 529.5 mm recorded against an annual average of 763 mm.

Northeast India, including Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, is preparing for extremely heavy rainfall expected from June 10-13, as warned by the IMD. This region has been experiencing continuous rainfall since the early monsoon onset.

Meanwhile, heatwave conditions have returned to North and Northwest India, where the monsoon has yet to arrive. Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Western Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh are expected to face heatwave conditions until June 13. According to IMD, severe heatwave conditions are forecasted for Uttar Pradesh through June 13.