For the first time since 1958, the Shivajinagar station in Pune recorded no rainfall in the first 15 days of June.
Before that, 1915 and 1932 had the highest number of no rainfall days, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Pune. The records go back to 1901.

“However, the monthly rainfall in these years at the end of June ended up as 362 mm in 1915, 79 mm in 1932 and 65 mm in 1958. In 1958, the first rain occurred on June 16 and, in the other two years, it was on June 18,” an IMD Pune expert.

This year, June started with Lohegaon getting drenched and Hadapsar receiving some rain but most parts of Pune are feeling the effects of the below-normal, driest monsoon in 10 years.

The IMD says that the monsoon flow is not strong enough to ensure adequate rain. “The conditions are not favourable for the next few days for further advance of monsoon over Maharashtra,” says a weather expert.

The minimum temperature at Shivajinagar was 25 degrees Celsius on Monday, similar to the readings over the last few days. The minimum temperature was the highest in Koregaon Park and Hadapsar, at 26.5 degrees Celsius. NDA and Lavale were 22.6 degrees while Magarpatta recorded 25 degrees and Chinchwad 25.5 degrees in the morning.
The maximum temperature, too, has been constant over Pune, around 35 degrees Celsius.

On Monday, Pashan was among the warmest parts of Pune with the mercury hovering around 35.6 degree C. The difference in the warmth across the city was around 5 degrees Celsius, with Chinchwad, NDA, Hadapsar and Wadgaonsheri in the 34 degree Celsius range.

That the maximum and minimum temperatures are stable is another indication that there is no increase in moisture in the air or strong winds associated with the monsoon.

The strength of the monsoon depends on the power of the Southwesterly winds. The major factor responsible for the below-normal monsoon this year is the El Niño, a climate phenomenon in the equatorial Pacific that plummets weather across the world, causing extreme weather events in places, such as India.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the El Niño has officially formed and could be “among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950”.

With the monsoon not arriving in Pune any time soon, the IMD has forecast clear skies that could turn cloudy in the afternoon or evening in the next few days.

The minimum temperature is expected to be between 34 and 36 degrees in Pune while the maximum temperature appears to stay around 35 degrees. In parts of central Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Marathwada, however, the Regional Meteorological Centre Mumbai has declared a yellow alert to inform people of possible thunderstorms, lightning and squall till June 18-19.