environment

Lonavala Records Highest 48-Hour Rainfall in 70 Years as Western Ghats Face Extreme Downpour

Published on: 07 Jul 2026, 07:21 AM

Since Sunday, several districts in Maharashtra—including Mumbai, Pune, Raigad, Palghar, Thane, and Nashik—have experienced intense rainfall. The Western Ghats region has been particularly affected, with many areas recording over 500 mm of rain in a 24-hour period on Tuesday.

Lonavala, a popular hill station about 80 km from Pune, recorded 620 mm of rainfall on Tuesday, bringing its 48-hour total to 1,290 mm. This is the highest two-day rainfall on record for the area, surpassing the previous extreme event on August 2–3, 1953, when Lonavala received 882 mm over 48 hours. The previous record for the highest 24-hour rainfall was 493 mm, also set in 1953.

The heavy downpour has led to waterlogging and disruptions in several areas. Authorities are monitoring the situation and have issued alerts for vulnerable regions. This is the second consecutive month that the Western Ghats have experienced exceptionally heavy rainfall, raising concerns about landslides and flooding in the region.

While the rainfall is consistent with the ongoing monsoon season, the intensity and rapid accumulation have been notable. Meteorologists attribute the event to a combination of strong monsoon currents and orographic effects along the mountain range. Residents and travellers in the affected districts are advised to stay updated on weather warnings and take necessary precautions.

Source: Indian Express

Latest in Environment 10

environment

Idukki Villagers Re-erect Fences, Blocking Elephant Corridors After Fatal Attack

Residents of Panthadikkalam in Idukki have re-erected fences that the Forest department removed to allow elephant movement, following the death of a farmer in an elephant attack. The move has blocked traditional elephant routes, leaving six elephants roaming near the settlement. The Forest department plans to capture and relocate two problematic elephants, while an expert committee studies the conflict.

The Hindu 09 Oct 2026, 01:43 PM

environment

Wildlife law architect warns India's protected areas are shrinking under development pressure

Wildlife conservationist M.K. Ranjitsinh Jhala, chief architect of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, has warned that India's protected areas are shrinking amid growing pressure from development, mining and tourism. Speaking in Thiruvananthapuram, he urged that conservation look beyond iconic animals to habitats and the ecological systems that sustain people. Officials and speakers at the event called for a people-centred approach that links conservation with local livelihoods.

The Hindu 05 Oct 2026, 03:39 PM

environment

Scientists Can Now Trace the Damage a Single Coal Mine or Gas Project Will Cause

Scientists have released an open-source tool that estimates how much a single fossil fuel project will warm the planet and the specific damage it will cause, from heatwave deaths in Europe to coral loss on the Great Barrier Reef. The Carbon Impacts Tracer applies established attribution science to individual coal, oil and gas developments, weakening the argument that any one project's emissions are too small to matter.

The Hindu 01 Oct 2026, 01:51 PM

environment

CAQM asks NCR states to tighten checks on vehicular pollution, stubble burning

The CAQM has directed enforcing agencies across the National Capital Region to ensure strict compliance with its directions, focusing on vehicular and industrial emissions, stubble burning and dust from roads and construction. The directions were reviewed at a meeting of its Sub-Committee on Safeguarding and Enforcement, chaired by CAQM Chairperson Rajesh Verma, which also asked agencies to strengthen inspection and monitoring.

The Hindu 01 Oct 2026, 04:58 AM

environment

Ganesh festival waste in Hyderabad up 40% in a year, four times the 2023 level

Hyderabad collected 4,527 metric tonnes of waste during the 11 days of Ganesh Chaturthi in 2026, about 40 per cent more than last year and more than four times the 2023 figure. The rise came despite 136 GHMC sanitation teams and over 6,000 sweepers working round the clock, with 1.15 lakh idols immersed in city lakes.

The Hindu 26 Sep 2026, 03:50 PM

environment

Kedarnath's Five-Month Waste Tally Crosses 50 Tonnes, More Than Double Last Season's Total

Kedarnath generated 50.30 metric tonnes of waste between April and August 2026, more than two and a half times the total collected in the whole of the previous pilgrimage season, according to Nagar Panchayat data released under an RTI request. The town's landfills remain largely unused so far, but the activist who sought the data warns that rising waste volumes threaten the ecologically sensitive Himalayan region.

The Hindu 25 Sep 2026, 05:41 AM

environment

Hebbal tunnel project: 1,128 trees of 70+ species to be felled; full list still unpublished

Documents show that over 70 tree species are among the 1,128 trees marked for felling along a 2.2-km stretch for Bengaluru's Hebbal short tunnel project, though the full list has not been made public. Experts say the loss of green cover could raise local temperatures and damage habitats, while a Change.org petition opposing the project has crossed 20,000 signatures.

The Hindu 24 Sep 2026, 05:51 AM

environment

Western Ghats draft is in Hindi and English only. A coalition has now released a Kannada translation

A coalition of organisations has released a Kannada translation of the seventh draft notification on the Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area, which was otherwise available only in Hindi and English. Karnataka holds the largest share of the proposed protected area, and the coalition says residents cannot respond to a notification they cannot read.

The Hindu 22 Sep 2026, 03:46 PM

environment

37 Water Sources in 25 Tamil Nadu Villages Unfit to Drink: Inside the SIPCOT Perundurai Crisis

The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board found water from 37 sources in 25 villages around the SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre at Perundurai, Erode district, unfit for drinking. A ₹136.76-crore Common Effluent Treatment Plant is being built to treat contaminated seepage and resupply industries, but no long-term plan for the affected villages or the aquifer has been finalised yet.

The Hindu 22 Sep 2026, 01:53 PM

environment

Telangana sets up climate centre for cities, launches urban climate atlas

Telangana has inaugurated the State Climate Centre for Cities under the CITIIS Programme 2.0, a nodal body that will handle climate data, risk studies and municipal climate action plans. The government also launched the Telangana Urban Climate Atlas, a digital platform mapping climate risks, vulnerabilities and emissions across cities.

The Hindu 17 Sep 2026, 03:50 PM

→ View All Environment News