City reels under record May showers as waterlogging, power cuts, and chaos drown daily life. For several days now, residents have struggled with massive traffic snarls, severe waterlogging, tree and hoarding collapses, and frequent power outages. The city’s unpreparedness has drawn sharp criticism
Traffic snarls were witnessed in several parts of Pune, with hoardings collapses also reported
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune, has issued an orange alert for the city as relentless May rains continue to batter the region. This year, May has made history with near-daily rainfall, fluctuating between high and low intensity, disrupting life across Pune and its outskirts.
For several days now, residents have struggled with massive traffic snarls, severe waterlogging, tree and hoarding collapses, and frequent power outages. The city’s unpreparedness has drawn sharp criticism, as the existing infrastructure buckles under pressure.
“In 2015, we saw similar showers in mid-May, but this year the entire month has seen persistent rainfall,” said senior IMD meteorologist SD Sanap. The IMD predicts continued downpours, especially in the Konkan region, due to an intensifying weather system over the Arabian Sea.
According to the IMD, Pune and surrounding areas will likely see more rain accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph. The intensity is expected to reduce later in the week, but warnings remain in place for ghat sections in Pune, Kolhapur, and Satara, where wind speeds could reach 50-60 kmph.
This has officially been Pune’s wettest May since 2015, with 116.8 mm of rainfall recorded between May 1 and May 21, surpassing the 2015 record of 112.7 mm. Sanap clarified that while the IMD can give accurate short-term forecasts (3-5 days), long-term predictions (up to a month) are more general and meant as overviews.
Heavy rains have paralysed traffic in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, with flooding reported in areas like Viman Nagar, Baner, Wakad, and Pimple Nilakh. Traffic in Hinjawadi, the city’s IT hub, has also been severely hit. The Forum for IT Employees (FITE) has appealed to the Devendra Fadnavis-led government to mandate work-from-home for tech workers during the monsoon. “If you can’t fix the infrastructure, at least issue a work-from-home policy for the rainy season,” said FITE’s Pavanjit Mane.
The civic body has recorded at least 54 incidents of tree falls, a hoarding collapse in Dhanori that damaged 7-8 vehicles, and two wall collapses in Dhankawadi and Hingane Khurd. Water entered homes and housing societies in Kondhwa, Satara Road, Warje, and Sahakarnagar.
On May 20 and 21, various parts of Pune recorded significant rainfall
Chinchwad 101 mm
Hadapsar 76 mm
NDA 65.5 mm
Pashan 54 mm
Shivajinagar 40.5 mm
Hinjawadi 99.2 mm
Kothrud 65.4 mm
Sus 68.8 mm
116.8 MM
Rainfall recorded between May 1 and May 21
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