This story is from September 8, 2019

Drought-prone Vidarbha wettest region in India

The drought-prone Vidarbha region was the wettest area in the country till Saturday morning with eight places recording triple-digit rain.
Drought-prone Vidarbha wettest region in India
An area in Vidarbha region (File photo)
PUNE: The drought-prone Vidarbha region was the wettest area in the country till Saturday morning with eight places recording triple-digit rain.
Bhiwapur in Vidarbha was the wettest spot in India with extremely heavy rainfall of 290mm in 24 hours, ending at 8.30am on Saturday. Pauni recorded 190mm rainfall, while the precipitation in Mauda was 180mm. The rainfall in Vidarbha’s Kuhi was 140mm, at Bramhapuri it was 130mm.
Umrer in the same region registered 120mm precipitation, and Nagbhir and Kamptee recorded 100mm rainfall each.
Other locations in Vidarbha, like Dhanora, Nagpur (airport), Desaiganj, Etapalli, Lakhandur, Mulchera, Saoner and Gadchiroli also recorded heavy rain.
Triple-digit rain continued to lash parts of Maharashtra till Saturday morning with Matheran recording 190mm, Alibag in Konkan recording 110mm and Mahabaleshwar recording 100mm rain. The rainfall activity over the plains of the state was moderate to light. Pune city recorded 4.6mm rain till 8.30am on Saturday.
As many as 18 locations in Konkan-Goa and Madhya Maharashtra also recorded triple-digit rain from Friday to Saturday morning. At least six ghat locations — Tamhini (190mm), Davdi (180mm), Shirgaon (170mm), Dungarwadi Ghat (150mm), Amboli Ghat (130mm) and Lonavla (100mm) — recorded triple-digit rain.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials stated that the rainfall over the state was expected to reduce after Sunday, though heavy rain warning might continue for parts of Konkan and ghats of north Madhya Maharashtra.

Anupam Kashyapi, the head of weather, IMD, Pune, said it was unusual for Vidarbha — a drought-prone region — to receive such extremely heavy rain. “But it was predicted well in advance and suitable warnings were issued for the subdivision. Several factors contributed to the extremely heavy rain in Vidarbha till Saturday morning. Weather systems are positioned in such a way that they are impacting Vidarbha directly,” he said.
Kashyapi said the monsoon low over the north Odisha and neighbourhood tilting southwest had been dragging huge moisture content into Vidarbha. The location of the strong monsoon trough was also conducive to rain in Vidarbha, he said.
“This monsoon trough passes through Raisen in Madhya Pradesh via Pendra Road in Chhattisgarh and is tilting southwards. Usually, rainfall is high in the southern part of the monsoon trough, and that is where Vidarbha is. The east-west shear zone was also passing through 21° North on Friday (and 19° North on Saturday), which is roughly over Vidarbha,” he said, adding that these three strong systems were causing the monsoon to be vigorous in Vidarbha.
“The monsoon low from the Bay of Bengal is moving at a very slow pace and continues to persist over almost the same location (now over north Odisha). This is ensuring that its effect remains pronounced over the areas of its influence, including eastern parts of Maharashtra,” said Kashyapi.
“The other factors that caused us to extend the intense rain spell over Maharashtra till September 8 include the increasing depth of the monsoon trough, the off-shore trough, the persisting strength of the east-west sheer zone, strong westerly winds coming from the Arabian Sea and moderately packed isobars over Arabian Sea, off Maharashtra coast. All these factors are bringing huge moisture, which, in association with orography of Sahyadri range, is creating huge wind convergence,” said Kashyapi.
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About the Author
Neha Madaan

Neha Madaan is a senior feature writer at The Times of India, Pune. She holds an M A degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from University of Pune. She covers tourism, heritage development and its conservation, apart from an array of subjects such as civic issues, environment, astronomy, civic school education as well as social issues concerning persons with disabilities. Her interests include metaphysical research and animal rights.

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