Unseasonal hailstorm as City sizzles

Unseasonal rain and hailstorm over the last couple of days caused heavy damage to crops in Maharashtra. Mango yields in Mahad, Raigad district, have been badly impacted due to thunderstorm and hailstorm.

Parts of Western and North Maharashtra witnessed unseasonal rain on the second consecutive day. On Tuesday, Pune, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Dhule, Shirdi and Junnar along with KalyanBadlapur on the outskirts of Thane district experienced thunder showers and hailstorm in some parts. Bad weather has mostly affected the horticulture and rabbi crops in these areas.

In Junnar and Ahmednagar, tomato and onion yields were ready for the market. However, the crop may have been ruined. The agriculture ministry has given instructions for a panchnama of the crop losses.

Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department has issued a warning of rain with thunderstorm at isolated locations in south-central Maharashtra and surrounding areas till Friday morning.

Some parts of Thane and Badlapur, too, witnessed isolated rainfall.

The weather official has attributed this to cyclonic circulation prevalent over the north Kerala coast and its neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, several parts of Maharashtra sizzled at 40 degrees Celsius on Tuesday with Chandrapur in Vidarbha recording a whopping 44 degrees.

The temperature in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg was relatively lower but varied between 32 and 34 degrees, and humidity levels were higher.