Pune experienced its second-highest single-day rainfall of the monsoon on 19 August, with the city recording 41.4 mm of showers until 5.30 pm. The spell followed a relatively dry fortnight, pushing the August rainfall tally to 88 mm, though still trailing the monthly normal of 145.5 mm.
The intensity of the downpour was reflected in localised records: Lohegaon measured 44.8 mm, Chinchwad 41.5 mm, and Pashan 23.3 mm. In the ghat belts, rainfall was significantly higher, with Mulshi’s Tamhini station recording 320 mm in 24 hours, while Maval’s Davadi logged 225 mm and Lonavala 145 mm. The surge has sharply altered water levels across the Khadakwasla dam complex. Within 24 hours, storage jumped from 53 per cent to nearly 87 per cent, prompting authorities to initiate large-scale water release. By Tuesday evening, discharge from Khadakwasla had climbed to 35,310 cusecs, while Panshet and Warasgaon contributed an additional 12,308 and 12,416 cusecs respectively. The combined outflow into the Mutha river has raised concerns of flooding in downstream settlements, with civic authorities issuing safety advisories to residents in low-lying areas.
Officials from the irrigation department emphasised that sustained rainfall in the catchment regions necessitated these controlled discharges for flood management. The situation has been compounded by heavy rainfall in Satara district, which led to the lifting of six radial gates at the Koyna dam on 19 August. This resulted in an outflow of 87,000 cusecs, supplemented by hydropower discharge, bringing the total to 89,100 cusecs into the Koyna river. Downstream villages have been put on high alert. In parallel, the Ujani dam has also commenced discharges, with 41,600 cusecs released into downstream rivers. Experts underlined that while water releases are essential for dam safety and urban supply security, the scale of outflow underscores the vulnerability of settlements along Maharashtra’s river systems during extreme rainfall events.
Meteorologists at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) indicated that Pune and adjoining districts remain under a red alert for the ghat regions and Raigad, with an orange alert for Nashik, Satara, Kolhapur, Thane and Palghar. However, a reduction in rainfall intensity is forecast from 20 August, with conditions expected to stabilise across much of Maharashtra from 21 August onwards. While the rainfall has provided critical inflows to reservoirs ensuring water security for Pune, it also highlights the broader challenge of urban resilience. Experts argue that unchecked urbanisation, coupled with inadequate drainage systems and encroachments on floodplains, continues to expose the city to high flood risk during extreme weather events.
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