Parched landscape and clear blue skies with relentless sun may be a thing of the past as dark clouds gathered over Hinjawadi IT Park in Pune around noon and with a thunder it started raining heavily on Sunday, June 21.

This is important because this rainfall will break the cycle of dry air intrusion and help in further advance of monsoon clouds into Pune and the rest of Maharashtra.

The normal date of onset of monsoon over Pune is around 8-10 June but till 21 June, there was no sign of rain in the city. The water stock in the reservoirs holding city’s drinking water supply had gone down drastically and water cuts had already started in PMC and PCMC areas with worries about city running out of water by mid August.

However this spell of rainfall over western Pune have rekindled hopes of monsoon revival and respite from sweltering heat, the city has been facing for the last few months.