Pune, 4th July 2026: Following a few days of light showers, the city recorded a sharp rise in rainfall on Friday, bringing many areas to a halt. Intense downpours from the morning caused waterlogging on key roads, slowing traffic and leading to long vehicle queues during the evening rush hours.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), rainfall activity is expected to remain active over Pune for the next three to four days, while the district's ghat regions are likely to receive extremely heavy rainfall.
The IMD has issued a Red Alert for Pune district's ghat areas for the next two days due to the possibility of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall. The weather agency said a low-pressure system over the northwest Bay of Bengal has become more active, strengthening monsoon conditions across Maharashtra.
While Pune city is expected to receive light to moderate rain, the western ghat areas may witness intense spells of rain, with isolated locations likely to experience extremely heavy downpours.
Friday's persistent rain significantly affected daily life across Pune. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 27°C and a minimum of 22.5°C. Shivajinagar received 11.6 mm of rainfall by evening, while nearby areas such as Pashan (13.2 mm), NDA (13 mm), Dapodi (11.5 mm), Chinchwad (8 mm), Lavale (5.5 mm), and Hadapsar (2.5 mm) also recorded rainfall.
Water accumulated in several low-lying areas, leading to slow-moving traffic and congestion across key roads during the evening rush hour.
Heavy rainfall over the catchment areas of the Khadakwasla dam system also brought relief to Pune's water reserves. The four reservoirs together now hold 4.18 TMC of water, or 14.50% of their total capacity, after gaining nearly 0.5 TMC in a single day.
Between Friday morning and evening, around 213 million cubic feet (MCFT) of water flowed into the reservoir system.
The highest rainfall in the catchment was recorded at Panshet (63 mm), followed by Varasgaon (61 mm), Temghar (43 mm), and Khadakwasla (11 mm), reflecting a strong improvement in inflows since the beginning of July.
The IMD expects weather conditions to remain largely unchanged on Saturday, with temperatures hovering around 27°C during the day and 23°C at night. Light to moderate rainfall is likely after noon, while residents living in low-lying areas have been advised to remain cautious.
The weather department has also urged travellers heading towards the ghat sections to monitor weather updates and plan their journeys carefully, as heavy rainfall may affect visibility and road conditions over the next two days.
