Pune: Red and Orange alerts for Pune District (Ghat region) and Pune city respectively, issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) prompted the district administration to force schools closure on Tuesday (July 9) in the entire district.

However, a sunny morning on Tuesday followed by a blame-game between IMD and district officials have led to citizens questioning 'lack of comprehension' by the district officials.

Amit Paranjape tweeted, "We need of more micro (Taluka level) decisions and advisories for important aspects like school closures. The micro-level data is available from IMD."

The Ghats region has been experiencing heavy rainfall over the past two days, with significant downpours also affecting Pune, Satara, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Mumbai, and Sindhudurg. On Monday (July 8), the weather department issued a red alert specifically for the Ghats in Pune district, not for Pune city.

However, this led to confusion, and the city administration declared a holiday for all schools on Tuesday (July 9), mistakenly believing the alert applied to Pune city.

In Pune city, continuous rain began on Monday (July 8) evening and lasted until 11:30 PM, recording 15 mm of rainfall. Moderate to light showers caused no significant waterlogging.

By Tuesday (July 9) morning, the skies cleared, and only a few areas experienced overcast conditions. By noon, the sun was shining brightly, leading residents to feel that the red alert had been an overreaction.

Weather experts clarified that the red alert was solely for the Ghats region and not for Pune city, urging residents not to panic. "The red alert was issued for the Ghats in Pune district, not for Pune city. Citizens should not be alarmed," said Dr. Anupam Kashyapi, former head, India Meteorological Department, Pune

Rainfall in Pune City on Monday (July 8):

• Hadapsar: 41 mm

• Lavasa: 39.5 mm

• Haveli: 35.5 mm

• Balewadi: 35.5 mm

• NDA: 31.5 mm

• Baramati: 20.6 mm

• Lonavala: 28.5 mm

• Magarpatta: 16 mm

• Pashan: 14.5 mm

• Shirur: 11.5 mm

• Rajgurunagar: 7 mm

• Chinchwad: 4 mm

• Narayangaon: 2.5 mm

• Koregaon Park: 0.5 mm