Parts of Maharashtra are battling persistent unseasonal rain, hailstorms and strong winds that have continued to disrupt agricultural activities and everyday life across multiple regions of the state. These erratic weather conditions — occurring well outside the typical monsoon period — are causing mounting crop losses, distress among farmers and localized infrastructure issues.
Officials from the state agriculture department report that both standing and harvested Rabi crops have been severely damaged over the past week, affecting vast expanses of farmland. Preliminary assessments suggest losses on the scale of over 1.22 lakh hectares across districts such as Pune, Nashik, Solapur, Ahilyanagar, Jalgaon and Buldhana. Fruit orchards, including grapes, mangoes and pomegranate, have also suffered from heavy fruit drop and moisture-related deterioration.
The impact stretches beyond farm fields. In Nashik city, intense downpours of around 39 mm in just 30 minutes caused significant waterlogging, traffic snarls and power outages in several local areas, highlighting how unanticipated rainfall is unsettling both rural and urban communities.
Farmers have expressed deep concern, noting that rains hit at critical junctures — either flattening mature crops or saturating fields ready for harvest — disrupting their production schedules and threatening incomes. Onions, wheat, maize and vegetables are among the crops reportedly damaged, with some regions like Baglan taluka in Nashik reporting especially high losses.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued ongoing weather alerts, cautioning that spells of rain, thunderstorms and even hail could persist in parts of the state over the next few days. In response, government teams are conducting crop damage surveys (panchanamas) and officials have assured that compensation will follow as per existing norms.
This unseasonal weather — coming on top of earlier climate disturbances — adds to the challenges faced by Maharashtra’s farmers, who must now cope with unpredictable conditions as they prepare for upcoming sowing seasons.
