Since Sunday, districts across Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Pune, Raigad, Palghar, Thane, and Nashik, have witnessed intense rainfall, with several locations reporting record-breaking rainfall.(Express File Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)Exceptionally heavy rain battered the Western Ghats of Maharashtra for the second consecutive day this month, with several ghat regions recording over 500 mm of rainfall in 24 hours Tuesday.Since Sunday, districts across Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Pune, Raigad, Palghar, Thane, and Nashik, have witnessed intense rainfall, with several locations reporting record-breaking rainfall.Lonavala, the popular hill station located around 80 km from Pune, recorded 620 mm of rainfall Tuesday, taking its 48-hour rainfall total to 1,290 mm — the highest on record. Earlier, the region had witnessed an extreme rain event on August 2 and 3, 1953, when Lonavala received 882 mm of rainfall over 48 hours, with the highest 24-hour rainfall recorded at 493 mm.Also Read | Rs 7,000-crore Mumbai-Pune Expressway section crumbled in just 9 weeksAnother significant 48-hour rainfall event occurred between August 13 and 15, 1983, when Lonavala received 507 mm, according to the 2015 report titled PMP Atlas for West Flowing Rivers of Western Ghats, prepared jointly by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Central Water Commission.In Raigad district, Bhira recorded 512 mm of rainfall Tuesday, taking its two-day total to 1,121 mm. Other locations in the region that witnessed extremely heavy rainfall included Davdi (688 mm), Tamhini (570 mm), Dongerwadi (423 mm), Shirgaon (420 mm), Walwhan (392 mm), Khand and Mulshi (312 mm each), and Nilshi (307 mm).“The Southwest Monsoon has been vigorous over Konkan, Goa, and Central Maharashtra,” IMD said.Low-pressure systemThe intense rainfall was triggered by a low-pressure system that had formed off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal. It intensified as it moved across Central India, becoming a depression by Sunday. As of Tuesday morning, weakened into a well-marked low-pressure area and was located over East Madhya Pradesh.Story continues below this adIMD said the system is likely to move slowly west-northwestwards across Madhya Pradesh and adjoining Southwest Uttar Pradesh, weakening further by Wednesday.Also Read | Four dead, one missing in Pune as 48 hrs of rain wreaks havoc, causes landslidesUnder its influence, light to moderate rainfall is expected over parts of Madhya Pradesh, Konkan, Goa, central Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha till Wednesday.Monsoon advance remains delayedWhile parts of Central and Western India, including Mumbai and Pune, have been witnessing intense rainfall over the past 48 hours, the Southwest Monsoon is yet to reach several parts of extreme northwest India.The normal date for the monsoon to cover the entire country is July 8. However, the advance has remained stalled since July 2, with the monsoon’s northern limit still passing through Jamnagar, Udaipur, Jhunjhunu, Hisar, and Bathinda.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Heavy rain alert issued for Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh until July 9IMD has said the monsoon is likely to advance into more parts of Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan over the next three days. If delayed further, the complete monsoon coverage could become the most delayed since 2021.The onset is still pending in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, including Bikaner, Barmer, Jaipur, and Kutch, where the monsoon normally arrives between June 30 and July 5.