State Urges Precautions as Thunderstorms Grip Pune, Kolhapur and Nearby Areas

Starting 1 August, the IMD assigned an orange alert to the hill zones of Pune, Satara and Kolhapur, indicating a high likelihood of heavy rain, thunder and lightning. A yellow alert was also issued for a host of surrounding districts, including Nandurbar, Nasik hills, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Buldhana, Akola, Washim, Amravati, Yavatmal, Wardha, Nagpur, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gondia and Gadchiroli.

The warning list for 2 August adds thunderstorms with rain over Raigad, Pune hill, Satara hill, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Akola, Washim, Amravati, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. On 3 August, yellow alerts remain active for Ratnagiri, Satara hill, Buldhana, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur. A further thunderstorm risk is highlighted on 4 August for Buldhana, Yavatmal, Wardha, Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli, while 5 August retains yellow alerts for Buldhana, Wardha, Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli.

The state disaster management agency has called on citizens to stay indoors, avoid open fields during the storm, and adhere to any evacuation or safety instructions issued by district officials.