Unseasonal and intense rainfall accompanied by thunder, lightning, and hailstorms has brought the entire Pune city and its adjoining regions to a near standstill, with large parts of the city witnessing severe waterlogging, poor visibility, and widespread disruption to daily life on Thursday. For the third consecutive day, Pune has been witnessing this unusual spell of pre-monsoon-like weather in peak summer, with conditions intensifying further on Thursday afternoon.
Several areas across Pune city, including Swargate, Warje, Shivajinagar, Jungli Maharaj Road, Hadapsar, Pashan, Pimpri Chinchwad, and Dapodi, reported heavy downpours leading to water accumulation of 1 to 1.5 feet on major roads. Dense cloud cover led to sudden darkness during afternoon hours, forcing motorists to switch on headlights to navigate.
Two-wheeler riders bore the brunt of the situation, struggling to manoeuvre through flooded stretches, while four-wheeler traffic slowed significantly due to low visibility and waterlogged junctions. In many areas, water levels rose up to footpath height, disrupting pedestrian movement. PMC fire officials received 145 waterlogging calls from residents and 21 tree falling calls.
Several acres of farmland and crops were destroyed due to hailstorms and rainfall. PICS/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Mayor directs measures
Pune Mayor Manjusha Nagpure has directed immediate, on-ground response measures.
Key actions ordered:
>> Rapid clearance of fallen trees and hazardous branches
>> Emergency desilting of drains and gutters
>> Deployment of teams across all administrative zones
>> Field inspections by senior officials
>> Priority to citizen safety and restoration of traffic flow
“Ensuring uninterrupted basic services and citizen safety is our primary responsibility. Immediate steps are being taken to address the current crisis and prevent recurrence through structured planning,” said Nagpure.
PMC emergency helplines:
>> 020-25506800
>> 020-25501269
Situation critical
With rainfall expected to gradually reduce from Friday but continue shifting towards other regions of Maharashtra, authorities remain on alert. Citizens are advised to exercise caution, particularly during afternoon hours when weather activity peaks. The ongoing spell highlights Pune’s growing vulnerability to extreme weather events outside the monsoon season, raising concerns over urban preparedness and climate variability.
PCMC’s action plan
A flooded house amid heavy downpour
Following similar disruption in Pimpri-Chinchwad, the municipal administration has rolled out a structured response strategy.
Immediate measures include:
>> Filling potholes and repairing damaged roads
>> Securing ongoing excavation sites
>> Deployment of pumping systems in waterlogged areas
>> Monitoring at key junctions, bridges and underpasses
>> Strengthening 24×7 control room response
>> Drain and nullah-cleaning drives
>> Identification of chronic waterlogging spots
Hailstorms damage crops
In addition to urban flooding, hailstorms were reported in parts of rural Pune district, including Junnar and surrounding areas, raising concerns over significant crop damage. Farmers are likely to face losses as standing crops have been impacted by the sudden weather shift.
Farmers bear heavy losses
The relentless rain and hail storms have left local farmers in tears. A wide range of crops, from vegetables to onions and grapes, has suffered extensive damage. Between the indirect impacts of global conflicts and this volatile shift in weather patterns, crops like bananas, onions, grapes, and many others have been devastated.
Gulab Neharkar, a farm owner
For Gulab Neharkar, a farm owner in the Pune district, history has unfortunately repeated itself. After completing last year’s harvest, he had just prepared his vineyard for a new crop cycle, only to have those efforts shattered by the recent downpour.
Explaining the dire situation, Neharkar said, “Farmers in our region are sitting with their heads in their hands, weeping. In our own vineyard, the grape sprouting has been severely damaged. Beyond that, onion farmers are facing a total catastrophe. Due to existing export issues, onion prices had already plummeted, with 10 kg selling for a measly 80 to 100 rupees. Now, this sudden unseasonal rain has soaked the ready-to-harvest onions, causing them to rot before they can even leave the field.”
Official Speak
Weather officials attributed the phenomenon to a wind discontinuity over the region, leading to atmospheric instability and triggering afternoon convective activity with thunderstorms, gusty winds and intense rainfall. Similar conditions are expected to continue for the next 2-3 days, said officials. A sharp temperature drop has also been recorded — from 35-36°C to around 29°C after rainfall — which may impact sensitive individuals.
IMD says
An India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist told mid-day, “The rain will reduce from Friday. It will likely move forward to central Maharashtra and the Marathwada region. Mumbai will not be affected significantly but may receive a short spell in some parts tomorrow.”
Rainfall (in mm) recorded on April 2
NDA
84.0 mm
Shivajinagar
65.0 mm
Hadapsar
42.5 mm
Pashan
36.3 mm
Dapodi
29.0 mm
Chinchwad
28.5 mm
Malin
18.5 mm
Dudulgaon
13.5 mm
Nimgiri
13.0 mm
Narayangaon
12.0 mm
Talegaon
6.5 mm
Rajgurunagar
4.5 mm
Kurvande
2.5 mm
Shirur
2.0 mm
Ballalwadi
1.0 mm
Haveli
0.5 mm
*The data underlines the high spatial variability and intensity of the ongoing weather system across the entire Pune district.
By Ruchita Shah
